"How recent was this incident? My reports didn’t mention any of this."
"Two months before Messenger Bulstrad arrived. Tridarium refining had to be stopped in the three other chambers until Chamber Four could be cleared out. When the clear-out finished, many of the Chan refused to return to work. With only Chamber One refining tridarium, andamonium production dried up. Hence Messenger Bulstrad being sent. He must have died before he could inform the gods. The Ushtarans aren’t always forthcoming with information."
"It was a minor incident," Aldo grunted. "Until the Chan made a mountain out of it of course."
"You can’t expect my people to work under such conditions," Ria hissed.
"Your forebears signed an agreement of fealty after we stopped their sorry asses from starving."
"You tricked them into slavery. Those living today should not be held responsible for the actions of their ancestors."
"The contract was binding," Aldo growled. "Yet, here we are. A Chan speaking out of order to her better while crowds of her ilk gather all over the Priodome, crying about injustice. We put down one of your revolts before. We’ll do it again if we have to."
Aldo was speaking a great deal more than he had on the skyway. He clearly felt strongly about the situation.
In an effort to calm matters, Taza gestured to those working on the face of the Refinery. "Why don’t they join the demonstration?"
Aldo snorted.
Ria considered his question for a second before looking at him like he’d gone mad. "We all can’t stop working. The Refinery is very old. Old things break. A lot. I’d hate to even think what would happen if all Chan stopped maintaining the Refinery."
"We already know what happens when you lazy bastards stop working," Aldo muttered with unmasked hatred. "Let’s focus on the job at hand so we can get them back to the production lines. We wouldn’t want to make the gods too angry about the lack of andamonium." He glared at Taza.
"Anger seems to be something all masters have in common." Ria shot the guard a dirty look of her own before turning back to the colossal structure.
He growled and looked as though he was about to move in her direction.
"Well, I’m glad I’ve got you guys to watch out for me," Taza said, trying to change the subject. "I’d end up getting lost in a place like that and dying before I could ever find my way out."
"Getting lost in there is just one of many dangers," Aldo spat. "Gotta keep a close eye on the Chan in case one of them stabs you in the back. If you ask me, they’re the ones who killed Bulstrad and Namoro."
To Taza’s relief, he settled back into position and once again watched the traffic go by.
"People have gone missing before," Ria said nonchalantly, ignoring the Ushtaran. "They vanish, never to be seen again. Sometimes they find a body, but most times…" She shrugged.
"Surely someone would smell a decaying corpse," Taza said.
"That’s how they find a few. Some end up trapped in collapsed service tunnels or in maintenance shafts. They say that others disappear into the catacombs below. But who knows?"
"We’re here," Aldo grumbled. "Stand back from the rail."
Taza did so as the platform connected with the Refinery. The rail lowered and Aldo ushered them onto the adjoining walkway.
"This way," Ria said, heading for a large opening. "We’ll take the shuttle to the primary andamonium line."
A large door crunched closed behind them, drowning out the distant cries of the Chan protesters, but the thick atmosphere hanging between Aldo and Ria remained, and Taza felt like a helpless parent stuck between two stropping children.
Only these children might actually kill each other.
He arrived on Ushtar mere hours ago and already he was getting the feeling that things might not be as straight forward as he’d hoped.
Aldo mumbled curses at Taza’s back as he followed Ria deeper into the Refinery; deeper into whatever mess the Omnion had maneuvered him into.
At least twenty minutes had passed before Taza stepped off the shuttle and onto a metal platform outside the andamonium factory. He joined Ria by the rail opposite the track as they waited for Aldo to finish a conversation on his communicator.
So far as Taza could tell, the Refinery’s interior was mainly constructed of steel and concrete with a smattering of other materials. The shuttle tunnel was a light gray with basic lamps streaming overhead, and the conservative design continued into the station. The space was large yet eerily quiet and very clean. Taza and his guides were the only occupants.
Two rows of bare metal benches lined the walls to either side of the exit. Taza noticed rust around the edges of the station doors, but there wasn’t so much as a lick of dust on the platform. He considered that strange for a building that refined ore. And despite being so deep inside the enormous structure, the air tasted fresh.
The transport shuttle moved on to its next stop, revealing a gaping cave on the other side of the track. Just beyond the cave mouth, he could see what appeared to be a large hole in the ground.
“Are they digging a new tunnel?" Taza asked, nodding to the opening.
Ria chuckled. "No, silly. Those are natural. Well, kind of. The Refinery was built over a hill perforated with tunnels. There are holes like that all over the place. They’re mainly used for channeling air from outside, though some are used for waste disposal."
That explained the fresh air.
He stared at the hole, wondering where it led to.
"You’ll find a few of those holes inside the factory, Terran," Aldo said behind. "Don’t get too close or you might end up like your Messenger friend."
Taza couldn’t decide if that was a threat or warning. The Ushtaran guard was even more on edge since entering the Refinery.
Aldo directed him to follow Ria. They exited the station into another gray tunnel, descending deeper into the structure.
The Chan led them through a dizzying maze of tunnels, every one looking just like the last.
"I can see how people go missing in these tunnels. How do you avoid getting lost?"
Ria chuckled. "This area is in lock down, but the Refinery’s primary network is usually well travelled. Besides, every Chan in here knows their way around. It is part of our home, after all."
"Your home?"
She looked back at him with one eyebrow cocked. "Some Chan live in the lower levels of buildings in Priodome One, but most have quarters in the Refinery."
"You live where you work?"
"Of course. Where else would we live?" she said as though an alternative could never make sense.
They continued their descent and arrived at a giant set of doors guarded by two well-armed Ushtarans equipped with armor like Aldo’s. However, they wore bright blue cloaks with silver fringes and the one nearest sported a dark-gray badge on his breast plate.
Aldo greeted them with a string of metallic scrapes and grunts.
"Sergeant Kurza, this is Messenger Arkona," he grumbled. "He’s here to investigate the deaths of Bulstrad and Namoro."
The nearest guard bowed deeply. "It is kind of you to grace us with your presence, Messenger Arkona. Please give my sincerest condolences to the gods. We are sorry for what happened here. I will do everything I can to assist in your investigation."
At least this Ushtaran was genial, if a little overeager. "I will deliver your message to…the gods, Sergeant. Your words are much appreciated. As is your cooperation."
He gave a curt nod and turned to Aldo. "Could you guard the doors with Jaga?"
"I’ll accompany the Terran," the lumbering Ushtaran said as though Taza wasn’t standing there. "Viceroy Eldi would pull me over hot coals if anything were to happen to another guest."
"Of course," Sergeant Kurza said before turning to the guard at the door. "It’s been fairly quiet around here anyway. You shouldn’t have any trouble."
Jaga nodded and spoke a series of grating noises.
The Sergeant swiped his security card across a co
ntrol panel and the large doors slowly rolled open.
"Stay close," he said courteously. "And don’t touch anything. I don’t know what the machines in here do, but I know how dangerous they are in the wrong hands. So much as a whiff in the wrong direction and the place could go up in flames. It’s no wonder most of the Chan refuse to return to their posts."
"Ria told me about the accident," Taza said as they followed the Sergeant into the dark chamber.
"Accident? Well, I guess that’s what the official report says."
"You believe someone caused the explosion on purpose?"
"I don’t know, Messenger Arkona, but I’ve been doing this job for decades. The Chan run the Refinery like a well-oiled machine. I don’t buy the faulty valve story, but those are just the ramblings of an old Ushtaran guard."
"What else could it be?" Taza asked, hoping these so-called ramblings would shed some light onto the situation.
"I don’t know. Could be some of the Chan wanted this upheaval and knew an explosion was the only way to start it. Or perhaps it has something to do with some political intrigue or other. I’m not a smart man, Messenger. I’ve got a gut feeling is all."
"An old man’s ramblings like he said," Aldo butted in. "Let’s get this over and done with. Being in the same building with so many Chan makes my skin crawl."
They crossed to the wall opposite.
Sergeant Kurza pushed up a lever and floodlights revealed bare walls save for another heavy door. "The place has been on lock down for weeks. No one has been in or out as protocol dictates."
"The Sergeant here is a real stickler for the rules," Aldo complained. "He’s another reason the factory hasn’t opened again. He had the entire Refinery shut down. Wouldn’t even let our own officials in after the bodies were discovered."
Sergeant Kurza’s eyes suddenly shone with fire. "A lauded Messenger of the gods died on my watch, much less a Chancellor. The least I can do is make sure we adhere to the Overseer Agreements. Section Seventeen dictates that any building where a Master, or one of their representatives, be found dead should be locked down and cryogenically preserved as mandatory. Whether that building is an apartment block or the Refinery is irrelevant."
"Save me that drivel, and get on with it," Aldo growled.
Sergeant Kurza swiped his card again and waved them through another door. "It isn’t far. The deaths occurred near the entrance."
"Viceroy Eldi didn’t have a copy of your initial investigation when we met. Do you have a report?”
"Of course," the Sergeant said. "I provided the viceroy and the board with a detailed outline.”
"You can’t expect our officials to remember every detail with everything else that’s going on," Aldo muttered.
"Did you find a cause of death?" Taza asked, ignoring the taller Ushtaran.
"Our initial search showed no signs of injury and no open wounds on either body. Our scans didn’t show anything unusual either. They’ve been under the cryo-field since then. Perhaps you will find something we missed."
"Were there any eye-witnesses?"
"Chan workers on the factory floor reported seeing a ghost. We suspect they saw a gas leak or a heat ejection. Only one Chan was close enough to see anything in great detail. His name’s Qurpall. We tried questioning him numerous times, but he was spooked…thought he saw a ghost for sure. He believes the explosion and more recent deaths are signs from the Chan ancestors…their way of showing displeasure with how their descendants are being treated. You must understand the Chan are superstitious people."
Ria snorted. "Most Chan."
"Of course, Ria," the Sergeant said. "I meant no offense."
"I would like to speak to this Qurpall," Taza said.
"I will arrange a meeting while you process the scene."
"Ria will accompany me…If she doesn’t mind that is."
"Of course, Messenger. It would be my pleasure to assist."
He looked at Aldo. "Just the two of us. I don’t want any guards around in case he gets spooked."
Taza could tell Aldo didn’t like that, but he didn’t object.
"Good idea," Sergeant Kurza said. "Ria is highly respected by her people. Hopefully, Qurpall will provide something useful with her there."
"I’ll go fetch him now," Ria said. "He should still be in the adjoining chamber."
"Even better," Sergeant Kurza said. "Bring him to the supply room up the hall from the factory entrance. We needed somewhere for questioning people after the incident and had it cleared out. Jaga will point you in the right direction if you have trouble finding it.”
Ria nodded and hurried back the way they came.
Sergeant Kurza nodded in kind.
Unlike the other Ushtaran he had met so far, the Sergeant spoke about the Chan like they were ordinary people and addressed them with respect.
"You mentioned a heat or gas discharge. Are there pipes or vents near the scene?"
The Sergeant pointed to the pipes running along the corridor. "We are inside an andamonium factory which in turn is inside a tridarrium refinery. Pipes and vents cover nearly every surface."
"Very well." Taza decided he would get a better idea when viewing the scene. "What about surveillance?"
"Unfortunately, the area where the bodies were found is in a blind spot just out of range of two cameras. We have a camera trained on one side of most doors. We didn’t think we’d need them trained on both sides."
It wasn’t what Taza had hoped for, but at least this Ushtaran was willing to help.
"And definitely no weapon?"
The Sergeant shook his head. "My men searched that part of the factory several times before we closed the place down. No weapon. You can have a look for yourself."
He pointed at a recess as they approached and positioned himself at the access panel. He keyed his security details and the door snapped open.
Taza followed Sergeant Kurza inside as Aldo brought up the rear.
So vast was the factory its ceiling and walls stretched off into obscurity. The door led to a long walkway splitting the factory floor in two like a tall dam, offering a sweeping view of the complex on both sides. Countless production lines and machines stretched out below as far as he could see. Dozens of holes, some much larger than the one he’d seen in the station, dotted the vast space.
Other than the gentle breeze caressing Taza’s face, all was still.
"It’s a long way down," he said, taking in the steep ramp over the walkway rail.
"Don’t go falling down there," Sergeant Kurza said. "The ramp is gradual enough that you shouldn’t get hurt, but most of the power in here is shut off. Without the elevators and escalators, it’ll take all day to climb back up."
The Sergeant proceeded in a straight line to a black pillar; the cryo-field unit. A shimmering light extended ahead of the device, covering about half of the platform.
The Ushtaran punched a command into the machine’s control panel. It hummed loudly before the light vanished, revealing two dead bodies.
Taza looked over his shoulder and was glad to find Aldo and the sergeant maintaining a healthy distance.
He ran his eyes over the scene.
The purple crested Zaqaran and extravagantly robed Ushtaran had indeed fallen in a manner that suggested they suddenly fell unconscious which was in line with the sergeant’s gas or heat theory, but a cursory glance showed that, though the area was surrounded by pipes, they were too far away. A lethal gas leak big enough to kill the Omnion agent and Chancellor would have also killed the Chan workers in the area.
Taza ran a quick scan on the nearest plumbing to be sure and found no signs of such a leak.
He crouched next to the cool bodies and checked them for puncture wounds, in case Sergeant Kurza’s team had missed something as he suggested. Coming up empty-handed, he ran a hollow medical scan on both bodies. That also came back clean. No toxicity, no tissue damage, and no internal trauma.
It didn’t make sense.
T
he lack of toxicity ruled out death by gas leak for sure, but he expected to at least find traces of poison. Unless the Shroud systems had access to something that evaded detection entirely. The only people outside the Shroud who had something like that were the…
Of course! How could I be so stupid?
Lacking a proper medical scanner, he was limited in what he could detect, but before leaving he had loaded a new profile.
He ran the scan again using the new configuration.
"Got it!"
"What did you get?" the sergeant called with excitement.
"Outside the Shroud we have a species called the Quamat. There aren’t many left, but some can produce a lethal toxin that kills its victims in seconds. And residue evaporates at room temperature and scanners can only pick it up if they’ve been preprogrammed to detect it."
Aldo grunted. "If they’re from outside the Shroud, how did they get to Ushtar?"
"We have reason to believe that a gate exists on your planet." He watched their reactions, but both seemed equally perplexed.
"A gate?" the sergeant said, cocking his head.
"A way for them to get inside the Shroud."
"Such a device would require incredible levels of power, would it not?" Aldo said. "We would notice that kind of dip on our grid. Where would they hide something like that?"
"I don’t know, but I intend on finding out before I leave, and the first step is tracking down the killer who did this." He pointed to the corpses.
"I knew the ghost story wasn’t true," Sergeant Kurza said as though he had actually considered it a possibility.
"Of course it wasn’t a ghost. Some Quamat have a biological mechanism that lets them turn almost invisible. Outside the Shroud we have devices that allow objects to become invisible…biomimetic tech based on their camouflage. Some call these devices stealth-drives, but they are colloquially known as ghost-drives. They are fairly rare. Shadow-drives are much more common, but they only render TEKs invisible in darkness or heavy shade. Hence the name. Obviously, the Quamat can perform these feats naturally."
The sergeant scratched his temple. "But what business would an outsider have killing a Messenger and a Chancellor?"
The Galactic Sentinel: Ultimate Edition: 4 Books with 2000+ Pages of Highly Entertaining Sci-Fi Space Adventure Page 90
