by Unknown
“Go on…”
“What I can confirm is that their release, roaming around the ship, out of their containers must have triggered sensors that were placed in space to detect them.”
“What sensors?”
“Maybe I am getting ahead of myself…What you have to know is that these creatures were considered extremely dangerous a long time ago, even so that they actually obliterated hundreds of millions of humans on the planet of Zilixuz in a year 2009, more than 12000 years ago.
These beasts are very smart. They actually learned how to hide on ships, so they could go to different planets and attach humans all over the known space. They spread around the empire like a disease, like a plague. They presented a very serious threat for the entire existence of humankind at one point of time, and it is written that they had wiped out over 50 billion people during their existence.”
“50 billion?”
“Yes…that is what I found out…”
“So the emperor’s grandfather, the great lord Faran, who at the time was ruling the empire, decided to contain them by sending great armies to confront them. He also tried to contain them by not allowing any ships infested with these creatures to travel through space.
“He actually had engineers create some very powerful sensors that could detect the creature’s presence at great distances. They placed these small sensors all around galaxies, next to click stations, along space highways, so they could scan passing ships. We actually do not know how many millions of sensors were spread around, and I have no way of finding any map with their actual locations, if such maps exist. What I can tell you is that they, or at least some of them, seem fully functional after all that time.
“ But I did get a hold of a prototype design. So I can tell you that they are equipped with a high powered beam, a self propulsion system, solar powered cells and a mix of powerful explosives of unknown composition.”
“What? Are you saying that there are millions of these space minds flying throughout the empire?”
“Yes, yes I am…Maybe the information was considered unethical, and it was erased from records at the Modern Revolution…I do not know why, but this information was deleted from any government databases at least 500 years ago. The information I came by was by going to illegal sources, it was very hard to come up with.
“It appears that whoever was transporting these creatures was not fully aware of all of these facts, and as the cruiser clicked through the Empire, large number of these devices were triggered, were attracted to the ship. They melted the outer shield of the ship, entered the ship, found their targets and exploded inside the ship.. .They practically bombard these creatures to pieces, but…Ended destroying the entire ship in the process.”
“You know ECI Val, all of this is very interesting, but I am very surprised that your hypothesis about the existence of these beasts…I mean, I am very old, I would have known of them, if they existed before. So…”
“I think you are wrong, Lady San. First of all, I do not know why you do not have a knowledge of these creatures, but I can guarantee you they are real. In my evidence, you can see videos of them…” Val brought out a video bit.
“This has been recorded by the space cameras…it shows these creatures when they were being bread. Their owner let them out of the cages as he saw me come.”
The video clearly show Val slowly walking toward the big house in the middle of the green countryside. He calmly approached the gate, but then suddenly he jumped back, and started to slowly step backward. Out of the house’s gate came four black monsters with their hungry mouth opening out, teeth ready to tear into Val any second. They were the same ones that attached Senator Sulivaro on the cursed ship.
Their tales zipped through the air and cut the trunk of the old pine tree in half. Val went for his guns and the fire didn’t stop until all four of the beasts’ headless bodies started to run around, directionless, hitting on each other, their long and sharp tales cutting down another tree in their way.
“I was lucky there…These ones were the young ones, inexperienced and not as intelligent. Also their heads had a softer bones, so…But, I understand, if I was to face four of them that were fully matured, I would not be now sitting in front of you.”
He let them watch the scene of their headless, crazed bodies still running around.
“I am sure you can find the copy of this video inside the emperor’s library. I also have this to show you…” Val then bended down, and out of the box underneath his table, he took out one head.
It was black and massive with sharp silvery pikes on top of it. Teeth bigger than Val’s fingers were sticking out of the half open mouth. Eyes were shot, but seemed ready to open and come to live any second.
“I took this as a souvenir, but this creatures DNA can be compared to the one held in the oldest databases. You will know I am talking the truth. You just have to ask the emperor to give you an access to the oldest available database.”
Suddenly all three of them could not look Val in the eyes,
After uncomfortably long silent had set in Lady San offered words. “Unfortunately, the emperor does not see anybody these days. And when he does, he is not very communicative. But I am sure that he probably didn’t know of this problem himself. And when he feels better, he will do the right thing.”
“No, we cannot wait that long.” Val insisted. “We need solutions now.”
“So, you are sure that destroyed the ship?” The commissioner now offered to brake the silent moment.
“Yes. I can confirm that with 100 percent certainty. You understand these mines were never intended to destroy any vassals, and I think if we build ships now the way we did thousands of years ago, with firmer reinforcement, the ship could survive. But, we do not need to build such strong ships anymore on account that we are blessed to live in the time of peace.”
“Clearly-”
“However, number of other questions still remain unanswered,” Val continued, “We do not know why they were going to Zalirus system, and why ships communication systems failed as they did. The first part of the answer I think Sikviruc Vixtuc will help us answer in the very short term future.”
“We will grant you a permission to obtain that answer through any mean possible, Chief Investigator.”
“…the second part of the question has to be answered by engineers. They haven’t yet found that out.”
“What If this information gets out? The chaos might start to reappear!”
“Imagine what that may do to interplanetary travel? People will be scared to go on ships. The commerce will stop!”
“We would need to reproduce these sensors…the costs would be huge, incalculable at this moment.”
“So, we better keep this quiet for the time being, just not to raise the panic.”
“Before you go about saying what needs to be done, I need to ask you , all of you at this council, one very important question.” As Val returned to talk, everyone suddenly got very quiet.
“Someone has already been trying to cover the presence of these beings on the Planet Zalirus. Did the order for the cover up come from you?”
“No, it didn’t…I assure you, as one of his closest advisor, that the emperor knew nothing of this. This is actually the first time I hear this.”
“Are you sure that there was a cover up?”
“Yes.” Emperor’s mother confirmed.
“Then there is another avenue I can pursue as well to find everything that led to this. The local captain on Zalirus was involved as were at least four of his officers. Unfortunately, they are all dead now, so I cannot question them. I could off course look into more details then who ordered cover-up.
“Maybe it would be prudent to have someone else look into that, some other ECI…” the commissioner jumped in.
“More people know about this problem, greater the chance the information will be finally leaked to the public.” Val said.
“Well, that is true…”
/> “What do you suggest we do in this matter ECI?” Emperor’s mother asked.
“If these creatures has reappeared, we need to prevent them from boarding transports… without raising any panic.
“But that seems like an impossible thing to do…how?
“Actually, now that we know what we are looking for, it should not be that difficult. Scans at all space ports of all cargo traveling between planets has to include the biological signatures of these beasts. Scanners can be tweaked, and nobody has to know details. ECI units can take care of all of that.
“ That can help make space travel safe until we can find the way to locate these mines and work on neutralizing them, and to find who is behind all of this.“
“So we keep this quiet?” She asked again.
“Yes, I think that would be the smartest thing to do. We need more time to find out exactly what we are dealing with here. This investigation is far from over, and I am afraid that if we do not deal with this situation in the proper fashion, it could have a catastrophic effect on the whole empire.”
“You will continue than to investigate this,” she said with a determination not to be challenged.
“Fine, but I need to ask for a few big favors first.”
Three of them exchanged glances, before the commissioner asked, “What kind of favors are you thinking of?”
“My commissioner, the head commissioner of ECI program, seem to have this personal vendetta against me…He made it very difficult, actually extremely difficult, almost impossible for me to comply with my obligations. He restricted my access to databases, compromised my apprentice, practically ordered me to stop the investigation all together. I have the proof of all of that, of course.”
“Do you suggest we remove him from his position? There certainly seem to be many irregularities to warrant this, especially considering that the assassination today in the capital courthouse has not been cleared yet.”
In reality, Val didn't want his commissioner sacked. He didn’t know who would come in his place, and who was the next person he will have to deal with on a daily bases.
A known threat is always better than unknown one. Val doubted that the commissioner was the main figure behind the hunt for his head, and maybe, the next person will be much more capable.
“No, no, nothing drastic like that. He is harmless enough, but he made my job much harder. If I am to progress with this investigation, I need unobstructed access…”
Val suddenly saw uncertainty in the face of all three of them. “When you decide to grant me one, I will proceed with the investigation.”
“I think I can talk for all of us when I say that should not present a problem. That will be done.” the chief commissioner responded.
“But something has to be done about the commissioner. “ The lady was not ready to let go of it. “ He broke the law, and to be in such a high position is begging for trouble. Remember how hard we worked to stem most of the corruption out? And now, if we do nothing, might be all for nothing.”
“Yes, you are right. We need a new commissioner…”
“Who knows what else he has been doing.”
“And let me remind you, he is the only commissioner of ECI who was never even part of the program. Why my son placed a person like him on such an important position is against all senses!
“Well, let’s give a job to one ECI with the gold rank to investigate him. As soon as the job is done, and the ECI reports to us, we will see what is the best thing to do. In the meantime, we can come up with a list of people who would be suitable for the position.”
Considering the matter decided, they turned their eyes toward Val.
“We are very grateful at the great job you did with this. Your full, golden ranking will be reestablished, and your reporting will be only required in the front of us or the emperor himself. Your obligations to report to the ECI commissioner as of this moment has been concealed.”
“We will also annul any charges pending against you, of course.” Emperor’s mother even forced out what almost appeared to be a smile.
“Thank you…Later today I will forward you my official report with the rest of the details. As always, I will attach all the proofs I found. You can communicate with me at any time if you need me to clarify any of the findings in a more substantial detail. Until then, I remain your loyal servant.”
.…
Right after he finished with that meeting, Val placed another call using the access codes he hasn't used in the last 50 years.
He just didn't want anyone ever to find out about that call. It was very personal.
On the other side appeared a woman in her late 30s looking very concerned.
“Chief Investigator Val, how nice to see you again!”
“Mrs. Sulivaro, it is always nice to see you too.”
“Please tell me, have you found out anything about my daughter and my husband?”
“Yes I have. I found their ship hit some old space mine left during the wars of old.”
“Oh no…”
“But it appears that the ship didn’t explode all at once. There might be survivors… we found out that two survival pods are still missing to be accounted for. It is very likely that, based on the profile of your husband, if anyone got off that ship, it would have been him.”
“Have those pods been located?”
-No, they have not. It seems their tracking signals have not been working. But that does not mean they have been destroyed. I mean, those pods have not been used in over 100s of years. I do not know how often they are checked to make sure all their electronics are working properly. So it is quite possible that it was just an electronic failure, and that your daughter and husband might still be alive.”
“Thank you Chief Inspector for giving me some hope.” Sadness knitted in her voice, water eyes made Val think about years long gone, about the time when he loved a woman, when he was loved in return.
“I am planning to go to the nearby systems, and try to find them. If they survived, maybe they decided to crash land on some space rock there. Can you please send me your husbands or your daughter biological signatures to me.” He knew he asked a lot. With those signatures, he could open any of their accounts. But with them and a right equipment, he could also scan a whole planet in a matter of days and find them if they landed anywhere at all.
“I will do that right away of course…I hope that will help you in finding them.” He needed to find them, not just because of her. He needed answers for so many questions which was steering his mind continuously, rattling the core of it.
“...we've been together for the last three hundred years. Eternity is only worth living if I can spend it with him and my daughter. They are my family. They are everything I have. So please, I am begging you, if they are out there, please find them...please, please bring them home to me.
“I’ll do my best. You know I will. Can you just answer me one question, please...” Val said cautiously, looking straight at the senator’s wife eyes, “Did you know that your aunt was on the same transporter as your husband?”
“Of course not!”
Either she is a really good actress, or she really knows nothing.
….
After finishing with that call, Val sat silently in the chair and thought a long time about the events. In the end, he opened the file he recorder earlier of an insert he had with the doctor a few days back.
“The senator was to bring me some samples of that might prolong human life without need for any transplants, do you understand that? The meaning of that?...I do not know where he found it. Of course, it is all highly illegal, but the senator was a visionary...He wanted to make the empire better. He didn't believe that enforcing some 1000's old strict code was the best thing for the empire and for its citizens.”
“What exactly did he believe in?”
“He believed in science, he believed that the whole universe is changing and that we have to change with it. He believed in mathemat
ical models that clearly pointed that a static system, like our Empire has become, cannot survive in a space that is constantly changing.
“I know your job, your existence depends on following the code,” continued the doctor trying to present a bargaining point, “But I would like you to think if all of these would have been avoided if we have not censored the knowledge?”
Val knew when to look the other way. It got him in the trouble before, but he always finished the job he was given. And that is what was important for him. Not to get sidetracked. Finish the job.
“Doctor I perfectly am aware that if I punish all those that break the code, there might not be many people left in the universe, if any. Okay?
“I remind you that my mission isn't to correct your beliefs or influence you in any way. If you think it is okay for humans to have three heads instead of one, to grow 10 fingers or whatever other abnormality they find amusing, be it…I will not try to change it. My job right now is, and only is, to find out what happened to that cruiser. So, the only question is, are you going to help me, or am I going to make you help me?”
….
The third communication that Val had that morning came rather unexpectedly. As he answered the call, ha saw a Timor’s grinning face.
“Val, so good to see you again!” He yelled, all happy, “You wouldn’t believe what happened.”
“What?”
“Mikka dusted my ass.”
“So it was her then at the court house?”
“Yes, that seems to be her style, plus I checked with the tracking code you pinned her with. It was her all right.”
“I am surprised she still has that tracker in her.”
“How the hell did she get out of the Planet Pluk? Nobody gets off there.”
“Well, we’ll make sure to ask her next time we meet.”
“I do not know if we will ever meet her enough to talk to her, I mean the ammunition she used… Almost half of the court house was destroyed. I would rather say she was very upset. Crazy girl. She is really looking to get back at us.”