by Neal Jones
"Uh-huh."
"Don't give me that tone. You wanted the whole story, so I'm giving it you. Anyways, over the next couple years, Ka'Hir would put in a good word for me here and there with Gaetin. He started hiring me more often to do runs for him, and, every once in awhile, Ka'Hir would come along for the ride. I asked her one time why Gaetin didn't get suspicious, and she said that he trusted her so well that he was training her to take over some of his business. Yeah, I was surprised by that, too. And, of course, on our long trips we would have debates about politics or whatever was on the news feeds that week, and, after awhile, well –"
"Yeah, I get it. You fell in love."
Sol nodded. "So, after a couple years, Gaetin decides he can trust me too, and he hires me on full time. Except that I wasn't a smuggler anymore. He wanted me to serve as Ka'Hir's bodyguard. And, of course, that just made everything worse. She and I spent so much time together that one thing led to another, and we ended up fucking on a pretty regular basis."
"And that went on for about a year?"
"Yeah. And then one day she tells me she's pregnant."
"Of course."
"Yep. So naturally I tell her that it would be best for both of us if she got rid of it, but here's the shitty part: Ka'Hir decided that she wanted to leave Gaetin's organization, and she was going to keep the baby. She wanted us to start a new life together. I told her she was fuckin' crazy and that she was going to end up getting us both killed, but she wouldn't listen. As soon as I realized she was serious, I got the hell out. I put Eliot into storage, cashed out all my accounts, and I got the hell out of the Nevala sector. I eventually made it to Yisek, and you know the rest." His panel beeped, and he pulled up a readout. "We're good to go. I'm out of the network."
Grax, shaking his head in disbelief, turned back to his console and brought the stardrive online. "What happened to Ka'Hir?"
"Just before I left Nevala, I heard that Gaetin had killed her, but not before slicing her belly open to be sure she was pregnant. Then he had both bodies displayed in the courtyard of his palace for all his mistresses and his men to see." Sol coughed, looked away, and cleared his throat.
After a few moments, Grax asked, "Why didn't you take her with you? You were so in love with her, why did you just leave her there?"
Sol stood and headed for the hatch that gave access below decks. "I need to check on the status of fuel mixture. Tilura said the temp controls weren't calibrated right."
He disappeared before Grax could reply. The Orethian turned back to the forward viewport, his hand hovering above the panel that would lock in the course he'd plotted earlier. For a few moments, he stared morosely at the watercolor ocean of his homeworld's atmosphere, wondering for the first time since he'd embarked with Tilura on this mission if he was going to see it again.
( 2 )
J'Soran stirred, moaning, and forced her eyes open. The room was still dark, thanks to the blinds over the window, but daylight peeked in around the edges, and Varis raised her head just enough to see the chrono display on her bedside com panel. She moaned again, feeling nauseous, but gritted her teeth and forced herself into a sitting position.
"Good morning," a voice said behind her.
Varis' glanced over her shoulder, startled, and then remembered that Prill had stayed the night. "Yeah, whatever," she croaked.
He smiled. "How do you feel?"
"How does it look like I feel?" J'Soran pushed herself to her feet, wobbled for a moment or two, and then regained her balanced. She trudged to the food dispenser and ordered a cup of tea. As she sipped, she noticed that Vasik was already dressed. "How long have you been up? And how come you don't have hangover?"
"For about an hour, and I didn't drink anywhere near as much as you did."
Varis snorted disgustedly as she padded to the desk and switched on her computer. As she sat, she realized she was still in her clothes from the previous night.
"The subpoena for the Lykenshy records is ready. I already transmitted it to them, along with a copy of our request."
Varis nodded. "Thanks."
"So...I have to go back to the office to take care of a couple things, but I can meet you at the university in an hour."
"No, that's all right. I appreciate you staying with me last night, but I'd rather do this investigation on my own. I'll let you know if I need anything."
"J'Soran, on what authority are you investigating this? You're a brantar specializing in strategic operations. Since when does the military get involved with a missing persons case? Especially when you're not even assigned to this sector?"
Varis looked at Prill over the rim of her cup. "I have special authorization, Vasik." She swallowed and then set her tea aside. "That's all I can tell you. If I find a new lead on this case, I'll fill you in later. I promise."
She focused on her computer, and Vasik took the hint. J'Soran glanced up as the door closed behind him, and she stared at it for a minute or two, and then shook her head, clearing her thoughts. It was time to start the day, and her first stop was the shower.
An hour later, feeling more refreshed and somewhat hydrated, though still suffering from a headache, Varis emerged from the hotel lobby and walked briskly to the nearest train stop. Lykenshy University was on homeworld, and although it wasn't necessary to make a visit in person to receive Moru's employment records, Varis wanted to snoop around the campus, particularly their medical sciences department. She thought it very suspicious that they were the only one who had been particularly stubborn about releasing Moru's employment file, and Varis hoped that there was one or two professors still on staff who might have worked with Moru. It was doubtful, since more than fifty years had passed since Moru had left Lykenshy, but it didn't hurt to poke around anyway. This was the only slim lead Varis had, and she had learned long ago that it was always good to snoop. One never knew what might turn up.
Two hours, one shuttle ride, and two train stops later, Varis set foot on a busy thoroughfare three blocks from the university campus. Lykenshy was on the southern edge of Trabb City, one of the five largest metropolises on homeworld. As she approached the main entrance, J'Soran activated her bio-net and downloaded a map of the campus. The front offices were in a grand and stately tower at the heart of the sprawling campus, and she found the Senior Director of Employment's office after only a few minutes. The secretary was an older woman with a wide face and an equally wide smile, and, in Varis' opinion, was dressed rather garishly for a professional environment.
"Hello," the woman said brightly. "What can I help you with?"
"I'm J'Soran Varis, and I'm here to collect some employment records. Your office should have received a subpoena this morning from the office of Anteri Prill on Anjisald." She had decided yesterday that it would be better to use her real identity instead of the alias she had used to check into the hotel. This investigation wasn't exactly an official one, meaning that it hadn't been authorized by Varis' immediate commander in FCI, but she would most likely need the authority of her military rank to get cooperation from the people she was going to be questioning.
"Okay. Just a moment." The woman consulted her terminal, and then nodded. "Yes, I'm seeing that request here. Mister Iatta is in a meeting at the moment, but he should be back in about ten minutes. Will you have a seat?" She motioned to a row of chairs against the nearby wall.
While she waited, Varis pulled up the university's staff directory on her palm's readout. She scrolled slowly down the list of names in the medical sciences department. Some of them had a link to a brief bio about themselves, but none said how long they had been employed with the university.
More than fifteen minutes passed before a well-dressed gentleman entered the office, and Varis didn't wait to be introduced. She followed him to the secretary's desk.
"Mister Iatta?"
He paused and turned. "Yes?"
"Hello." J'Soran stuck out her hand. "I'm Brantar Varis. Do you have a few minutes?"
"Uh, yes, of co
urse." He motioned to his office. "This way." As the door closed behind them he asked, "May I get you something to drink? Tea? Juice?"
"No, thank you." Varis took the seat in front of Iatta's broad – and obviously expensive – desk. "Your secretary said you had received the subpoena for Korik Moru's employment records this morning?"
The administrator keyed a command into his terminal, and then nodded. "Yes. I see it here. Give me a moment to call up those files." As he typed, he continued, "You realize, brantar, that it wasn't necessary to come all the way here in person for this. We could easily have transmitted them to Anteri Prill's office."
"Yes, I understand. Send him a copy as well. I wanted to get a look at your campus. I've never been to Lykenshy."
"Oh really?" He held out his compad and she swiped her palm over it to receive the files.
"How long have you been director of this office, Mister Iatta?"
"Almost thirty years now."
"So you didn't know Doctor Moru when he worked here."
"No, I didn't. I assume he's still missing?"
"Actually, no. His body was discovered on Exxar-One last week. That's why I'm here. I'm trying to determine why he disappeared five years ago."
Iatta frowned, folding his hands on his desktop. "He wasn't working here five years ago."
"Oh, I know."
"You said your rank is brantar, is that right?"
"Yes."
"But you're not in uniform."
"I'm assisting Anteri Prill's office in an advisory capacity. He asked for my help. On second thought, director, I would like a cup of tea. Spiced umsh, if you have it."
Iatta nodded and stood.
While he procured the tea from the food dispenser, Varis perused Moru's record. She was surprised to find that Moru had given the truth to Athdan's College. He had indeed left Lykenshy in 2627. "There's no reason listed here of why he left the university," she remarked as she accepted the steaming mug. "Especially when he'd just accepted a position as junior associate to his department key." She frowned, puzzled. "Could you tell me what that title means?"
"A department key is a professor who is the senior director of that department." He sat behind his desk and peered at the terminal screen. "They are often referred to as 'senior keys'. It looks as though Doctor Moru was 'junior key' to whomever was senior at that time."
"So it's a prestigious position."
"Oh yes, especially for someone as young as he was at that time."
"He was thirty-five."
"Yes, that's right."
Varis nodded, scrolling through the rest of the file. "And who was the senior key of the genetics research department at that time?"
Iatta turned to his terminal once more, his fingertips tap dancing across the touch screen. "Doctor Ojin Reldun. He retired almost twenty years ago."
Varis typed the name into the margin of Moru's file, and then asked, "Is there anyone in that department currently who worked with Doctor Moru? A former student perhaps? Maybe an apprentice?"
The director gave a slight hesitation and then said, "Just a minute."
While he was recalling the records from the central database, Varis took the opportunity to do a visual sweep of the office. One wall was adorned with the usual framed degrees and certificates that the director had accumulated in his career thus far. Some family holo-photos smiled and waved from their corner of a bookshelf behind his desk, and a large, old fashioned oil painting occupied the other wall to the left of the desk. J'Soran assumed that the buildings in the scene were from the early days of the university, from its founding over a thousand years ago.
"Lykenshy is primarily a research university, is that correct, director?"
"Yes. In fact, our campus is home to several major research centers. The top three are medical, engineering, and humanities."
"Humanities?"
"Yes. Historical archives, preservation societies of various aspects of Ralorian history, that sort of thing. Most of our funding comes from government research grants, particularly in the fields of medicine, technology, and engineering."
"Interesting."
"Oh yes. Lykenshy has been the site of many medical and technological breakthroughs of the past five hundred years or so." He glanced at his terminal screen. "Ah, here we go. I'm sorry, brantar, but it looks like everyone who's currently on staff in the medical research department has been there about thirty years or less." He scrolled slowly down the list of names. "I'm not seeing anyone with an employment date older than...2645, GSD." He looked at Varis. "I'm sorry. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"How large is the medical research department?"
"Our current staff is around a hundred and fifty. There's about a dozen different projects running concurrently, and each project has one or two professors, at most, and approximately ten or twelve students."
"I see. And would it be possible for me to talk to the senior staff of that department?"
Iatta shook his head. "Not without proper clearance. And for that, you will need to establish probable cause for how this relates to your investigation."
"Of course." Varis stood and smiled, extending her hand. "Thank you for your time, director. I might be back in a few days with the formal paperwork."
"You're welcome. Anything we can do to help."
Varis nodded politely to the secretary on her way out of the lobby, and, as soon as she was outside the tower, she paused at a bench beneath a large shade tree in the center of the grounds. Around her, students were chatting and laughing with one another on their way to or from class, and Varis checked the chrono display in her palm's readout. Even though she had left Anjisald that morning, it was late afternoon in this part of homeworld, and, since she had had only a biscuit and some tea for breakfast, her stomach was growling. She consulted the university directory once more, and then started walking in the direction of the campus restaurant on the far side of the main grounds.
J'Soran was grateful to see that very few tables were taken in the dining hall, and she claimed one in a corner well away from the main area. She ordered a chif sandwich with a side of steamed len, and then turned her attention back to Moru's file. There were two possible leads. One was his address. J'Soran pulled up a map of the city and discovered that the apartment complex was only a few blocks from campus. The other lead was the name of the former senior key of the medical research department, Doctor Reldun. Varis searched the city's public comm directory and found three matches for his name. Two of the addresses weren't far from her present location, but the third was in the northwestern quarter.
The waiter returned with her sandwich and len, and, by the time Varis was finished with her meal, she had ruled out the two closest addresses. When she screened the first number, an elderly woman answered the call, and she had never heard of a Doctor Reldun. The same answer was given by a young man at the second number, and J'Soran left the restaurant before screening the third. This time there was a lengthy pause before the face an elderly man appeared on the screen of her compad.
"Hello?"
"Hello. Is this Ojin Reldun?"
"Yes. Who are you?"
"My name is J'Soran Varis. I'm a brantar in the RSN. I'm investing a doctor who was employed at Lykenshy University over fifty years ago. His name was Korik Moru."
"Moru?" Reldun paused, scratching idly at his chin. "Yeah, I remember him. That was a long time ago."
"Yes," Varis nodded. "Doctor Reldun, is it all right if I came to visit you now? I have a few questions I'd like to ask."
"Questions?"
"Yes. I promise it won't take long."
"All right, I suppose. Do you need my address?"
"No, doctor, I have it already. I'll be there in twenty minutes."
"Yes. Okay. Goodbye."
The screen went dark, and Varis shook her head, bemused, as she shut off her compad. Doctor Reldun was most likely a hundred and ten by now, at least, and, judging by the clipped tones of his speech, as well
as his perpetually puzzled expression, he seemed as if he wasn't exactly sure where he was or who he had been talking to. Feeling somewhat dubious about this lead, Varis left the campus and started up the street to the train stop.
She was unaware of the Ralorian gentleman who had been watching from a bench near the entrance of the restaurant. He took one final sip of his cup of tea and then tossed it into a nearby reclamation unit before rising to follow her.
( 3 )
"Yes?"
"Doctor Reldun?"
"Yes, who is it?"
"Brantar Varis. I screened you a few minutes ago. I have some questions to ask you about one of your students, Korik Moru."
Reldun continued to frown with puzzlement, and then his face brightened. "Oh, yes! Yes, I remember now. Please come in." He turned and Varis followed him into the foyer. "I apologize, brantar. I celebrated my hundred and fifteenth birthday two weeks ago, and my memory isn't what it used to be."
"It's all right. I understand."
"Would you like some tea?"
"Just water will be fine, thank you."
He led her into the kitchen and motioned to the nearby table. Varis sat and activated her compad. "You have a lovely home, doctor."
"Please, call me Ojin. I have not held my certificate of professorship for many years now." He handed her a glass of water and then set down his cup of tea before pulling out his chair. "Now, you wanted to know about Korik?"
"That's right. He was your junior associate back in 2627."
"Yes, I remember him well. In fact, he was one of my brightest and best students. The first day that he walked into my office, I had a series of formulas up on my wall screen, something pertaining to one of my research projects. Korik looked at the screen for a few moments, then walked over to it, erased one of the equations, and rewrote it. I was stunned. He had solved in thirty seconds what I had been struggling with for almost two months. I immediately made it my business to oversee his career, and it was seven years later, I think, when he became my junior associate."