Rosetta (Jim Meade: Martian P.I)

by RJ Johnson

  Meade watched the operation in wonder as he stared up at the top of the Pit. Above him thousands of drills combined into a fractious cacophony of sound. They were loud, and Meade had to cover his ears as he and Suresh exited the Rampet and into the Pit.

  He looked around and spotted more of the graffiti he had viewed in the landing bay. More of the same. A mythical man promising salvation and better life if they gave theirs over to Him. Meade shook his head. He had even less use for religion as he did politics. There was a variety of churches ranging from Christianity, Islam and Mormonism scattered throughout the Martian colony, but he'd never seen the inside of a church his whole life. Early on in life Meade struck a bargain with God telling Him that Meade wouldn't bother Him if God didn't bother Meade. So far, both had kept up their ends of the deal. That didn't stop His more ardent supporters from trying to convert Meade on Mars though. He wondered if he would be proselytized to for the Lightbringer while on Rosetta. He hoped not, he had other priorities than the state of his soul after his death.

  "Kinda loud around here!" Meade shouted over the din. Suresh nodded in agreement. There wasn't much they could say to each other over the sound of the drilling and men working. Meade opened up the heads up display on his ArmBar and went over the report.

  The information provided by Koschei said that Sinjakama Sr.'s body was discovered next to the Mass Driver's main loading drive. Meade approached the rear of the massive machine and began inspecting it. He looked up and thousands of feet above him and tried to see the point where Sinjakama Sr. had taken his supposed swan dive. He frowned.

  Whoever had cleaned the machine of Sinjakama's remains had done an excellent job, but they were no match for his newly acquired ArmBar. Meade typed quickly and his ArmBar began scanning the area and projected a hologram of what the scene would have looked like directly after the body fell to the ground.

  Meade walked around the holographic representation, constructed by the painstaking reports and photos taken by the security squad who had reported the body. Meade carefully examined the scene before him. Suresh watched the P.I. work, fascinated by his process. Meade mumbled to himself, mentally taking notes as he inspected the gruesome scene projected out of his ArmBar and onto the Mass Driver.

  He crouched down next to the holographic Sinjakama, his face scrunched up in deep thought. Nothing he saw was adding up. According to the report and photos, Sinjakama Sr.'s body had landed face up, when in reality, there shouldn't have been much left, if anything at all of the man's body after falling from thousands of feet above. He'd have to get a better look at the topside of the Pit before he knew what he needed to look for. For all he knew, the pit's gravity could be adjusted throughout the day which would account for the mostly intact body they had found. But, for the first time, he felt that first tingle of excitement in his belly. That was a feeling he knew well, his gut was telling him there was more to the story, there was a genuine case here. He might have to earn his keep after all.

  "I don't like it Suresh." Meade said to his assistant. Suresh nodded in agreement, unsure if he even knew what Meade was talking about.

  "Is there something I can assist you with?" Suresh asked him.

  "I think we need to get a better look at where Sinjakama's body fell from." Meade said. "That might give us a better perspective on how far he must have fallen."

  "That's going to be quite the climb." A voice said from his left. Meade glanced and saw a towering man standing next to him. Meade instantly recognized him as Omar Rodriguez, the security chief for Koschei on Rosetta.

  "I'd been looking to meet ya." Meade said smiling and offering his hand out to the towering security chief. "Jim Meade, I'm the private..."

  "Yes, I'm well-aware of who you are Mr. Meade." Omar didn't offer his hand in return for a handshake and Meade dropped it awkwardly. "I was in charge of the investigation of Doctor Sinjakama's death. I find it offensive that you were even called in to question my work."

  "Whoa there friend. No one's here to question your work." Meade said raising his hands in surrender. "The pay was awfully hard to pass up."

  Omar studied Meade looking over him as if he were searching for the man's weakness. "I do not appreciate outsiders questioning my work."

  "You said that already..." Meade said in a friendly tone, "But I have to admit, what was on the report and what I'm seeing here ain't exactly holding up to scrutiny, so maybe you can help me fill in a few blanks."

  Omar glared at Meade. "You are welcome to investigate as you see fit of course. Mr. Koschei made it clear that your investigation was to take priority as Master Sinjakama has a great deal of influence over Rosetta's operation."

  "So I hear." Meade replied, "How's about starting with finding us a ride up to the top of the Pit?"

  "The elevator is for official ORI mining purposes only." Omar replied stiffly.

  "Well, I'm sure you know someone and can pull a few strings." Meade quipped. Omar's eyes narrowed and he growled.

  "Follow me."

  Omar turned quickly on his heel and Meade smiled as he waved for Suresh to follow along. They stepped into a three by four foot cage, barely large enough to fit the three of them. Omar closed the mesh metal door and tapped on the control panel to his right. The tiny cage accelerated up quickly towards the main floor of the Pit above them. Meade watched the lights of the coders blink on and off as the overworked Consortium men and women extracted the tiny pieces of ORI to be sent back to the Homeworld.

  After a few minutes of flying upwards at an incredible speed, the cage began to slow and Meade's stomach began to ease. The cage appeared at the top floor of the Pit and the trio excited into a much different environment than the rough and tumble conditions they found below. Up here, everything was modern, the air completely filtered and the surfaces white and shiny. A series of men in white overcoats busied themselves as they watched over the Workers below on tiny security screens.

  "This is the operations floor of the Pit." Omar announced in his deep voice. "Here, we have a contingent of engineers and scientists who are charged with ensuring the mining process is as efficient as possible."

  Meade looked over the operation and raised an eyebrow. "How do they do that exactly?"

  "The workers know they are watched and thus are motivated to meet their hourly quotas. If they fail to reach a specified and agreed upon quota of ORI, then our personnel here are authorized to discipline them."

  "Discipline them how?" Meade fought to keep the horror out of his voice. It wasn't his to judge.

  Omar shrugged, "Some are forced to work through the night, sometimes they double their quotas, some have rations withheld, or payments for past ORI shipments seized. It is according to the discretion of the personnel and how much they are off on their daily quota."

  Meade glanced around, "Who monitors these gentlemen to make sure they're doing their job?"

  Omar smiled briefly, "Why, I do of course. I do not supervise each of them individually, I have men watching them from cameras in my security suite." He pointed to the almost imperceptible holes scattered through the ceiling. "But, I can assure you, they rarely have to deal with these men."

  Meade chewed his lip thoughtfully. The conditions might be draconian and frightfully despotic from his perspective, but the Consortium's tendency to trust no one might play to his advantage in this case. "What about footage from the night Sinjakama died? It wasn't included in the briefing report."

  Omar's eyes narrowed. "Our security footage is considered proprietary in nature and as such is not allowed to be viewed by outsiders. Especially Coalition sc..." Omar stopped himself and Meade was certain he was about to be called a few choice names by the Security Chief. "...I should say, even Coalition guests such as yourself."

  "According to Consortium law, and the 2055 Naples treaty, as a guest and employee of Master Sinjakama, Master Meade is entitled all rights and privileges afforded to all Consortium Citizens. He is no more a spy than I am" Suresh said promptly. "This should
include all footage from the night in question." Suresh smiled showing his toothy grin, "Also, did you not say that we were to be extended every courtesy by Master Koschei?"

  Meade grinned, it was refreshing to see Suresh stick up for him. It was nice to have someone who knew the ins and outs of Consortium law on his side.

  Omar grimaced and typed quickly on his ArmBar. He held out his arm indicated that Meade should download the info from him. "I've allowed you access into the archives."

  Meade glanced through the list of files and pulled up one that was closest to the reported time of death of Sinjakama. It showed Sinjakama standing next to the railing at the top of the Pit. Meade watched him climb over the safety railing, and jump to his death.

  "As you can see, Dr. Sinjakama was upset and threw himself to his death." Omar said as he watched Meade view the footage. "There really is no reason for an in depth investigation into the Doctor's death, which, while tragic, serves no purpose and wastes my time. The man was despondent and was ready to end his life."

  "So it seems." Meade said absorbing the footage he had just watched. "Tell me something, why was his body intact at the bottom?"

  Omar was taken aback by the question. "I'm not sure I take your meaning."

  "I mean," Meade said as he closed the ArmBar window, "considering the height he fell from and the fact his body was nearly intact according to your autopsy report and the distance to the bottom of this pit is well over a few thousand feet. Anything else that drops that far would end up splattered all over, so why wasn't Sinjakama Sr. a pretty red smear?"

  Omar had no answer for this and remained silent, his face inscrutable. "From what I understand the Gravity plates in this sector have been malfunctioning. It could be that his velocity was affected by the variable conditions."

  "I 'spose that would make sense." Meade pursed his lips and scratched his chin as he considered it. "But what I keep coming back to is why he felt the need to commit suicide in the first place?"

  Omar shook his head. "If I were able to understand what went on in a man's head, I would be a much wealthier man than I am today."

  Meade nodded in agreement. "I'd like to take a look at his quarters if that's all right with you."

  Omar's ArmBar chirped and he glanced at his display. "I'm afraid I have other business at the moment, but I will send a message ahead to my subordinates and let them know to have Doctor Sinjakama's quarters unsealed for your examination. Perhaps you will find your motivation there."

  Meade nodded, "Perhaps I will Mr. Rodriguez."

  Omar saluted, clicked his heels, turned and walked off towards the cage which they had ridden to the top and it moved back towards the bottom of the Pit.

  "Master Meade," Suresh began, "What if this really was a suicide?"

  "It's funny Suresh," Meade said as they headed towards the Tun that would take them to Sinjakama's quarters. "I came into this fully expecting this case to be an easy confirmation of the report. Accident, suicide, doesn’t really matter which I guess. People’s lives end in the ‘Belt all the time, why should some upper class caste citizen be any different? Humans are complicated animals." Meade chewed his lip thoughtfully, "But things ain't adding up the way I thought they'd be by now. More I look at it, the more I agree with your boss. There's something funky going on in this Droid and I'm bound and determined to figure out what it is."

  He entered the Rampet and closed the door after Suresh crawled in beside him, "Even if it kills me."

  "Famous last words Master Meade." Suresh warned as the Rampet made its way down the tunnel and towards Sinjakama's quarters. "Famous last words."

  Chapter Eleven

  Meade was impressed by the network of tunnels snaking their way through the enormous asteroid. As they approached the station on the Garuda, Meade hadn't been able to take the time to truly appreciate just how immense the whole operation was. Stretching over 188 kilometers with nearly triple that in tunnels and carved out living space, the sheer force of will required to mine the ORI out of Rosetta was massive.

  Exiting the Rampet, Meade checked his map for the location of Sinjakama Sr's quarters. He was still absorbing the details of the scene of Sinjakama's murder. After Omar's obvious stonewalling, Meade had become all the more suspicious of Sinjakama's death and he hadn't gone wrong yet when he listened to his gut.

  "They know how to keep their workers happy." Meade remarked as he walked with Suresh down the hallway to Sinjakama's quarters.

  "This level is reserved for the upper castes and their servants." Suresh remarked, his tone neutral. "The people you saw mining the pit for ORI live in..." he paused as he struggled to find a diplomatic way to put it, "different conditions."

  "How bad are they?" Meade asked.

  Suresh avoided his eyes. "I am not aware of the particulars of Rosetta's layout."

  "Suresh, if you're going to help me with this investigation, I'll need you to be honest, even when it might make the Consortium look bad. I don't give a damn about their conditions, and I ain't about to go publicizing 'em for the Coalition to use in some damn propaganda piece. I'm not Coalition and I'm damn sure not with the Consortium looking to test your loyalty or any of that bullshit. I'm my own man and I tend to see all men and women as equal as anyone else." Meade stroked his chin thoughtfully, "Well, depends on how much they've pissed me off at any given moment."

  Suresh smiled, "This is why I like you sir, you are one of the good ones."

  Meade clapped Suresh's back, "I do what I can."

  The pair arrived at Sinjakama's door. The entrance was taped shut with warnings that anyone who violated the inner sanctum would be prosecuted and privileges taken away.

  "What do they mean by taking away privileges?" Meade asked as he tore the sheet down. Suresh winced as he watched Meade tear away the tape on the door. Meade could see his new found friend was uncomfortable with him so brazenly tearing down Consortium orders.

  "It can vary." Suresh said as he swallowed, "It can range from lowering SUMP rations, to extra shifts to..." he hesitated, "more extreme measures."

  Meade didn't ask. It was perfectly clear what Suresh was talking about. Consortium authorities weren't exactly known for their leniency.

  "Welp, bout time you got to violate a few Consortium rules with impunity don't you think Suresh?" Meade grinned. He unlocked the door to Sinjakama's quarters as it slid open, revealing the man's room.

  Once he was inside the spartan apartment Meade whistled in disbelief.

  "Doesn't exactly have a woman's touch does it?"

  "Sir?" Suresh asked, confused.

  Meade chuckled and shook his head. "Never mind.”

  Meade's eyes never stopped moving as he took in every detail of the deceased Sinjakama's apartment. Two chairs sat at a table facing a larger quantum computer, and a bed, its sheets a mess of jumbled chaos. Meade was sure Omar's people (maybe even Omar himself), had already searched Sinjakama's quarters thoroughly, stripping anything that could be of value to the investigation, but Meade was hopeful that the security chief had missed some crucial detail.

  Meade wandered over to the bedside table and opened the drawers. There was no clothing or personal effects. He harrumphed in frustration, this investigation was beginning to annoy him. No clues that might inform him about the man's personal habits. The place was too clean.

  "Can I help you with anything?" Suresh inquired from across the room.

  "I don't get it Suresh. Where's the man's stuff?"

  "It is possible the Consortium security took his personal belongings for Master Sinjakama to take home with him." Suresh offered.

  "Maybe." Meade was about to close the drawer when he took a second glance at the furniture. Something didn't look right. The dimensions didn't add up. He knocked around the furniture and the bottom drawer rang hollow.

  "Ahha!" Meade smiled. He pushed on the bottom of the drawer and it opened up revealing a hidden space within the cabinet. Inside, he found a round, clear container filled with a fine gray
dust.

  Meade withdrew the container and examined it closely. It was heavier than he expected. Flipping the container over, he read the label. 99% refined Osmium, 5.3 Troy Ounces.

  “Jackpot.” Meade said smiling.

  Unprocessed ORI on its own wasn't worth much at the moment due to Rosetta flooding the market, but after refinement, the elements split up and refined into useable ore, it became orders of magnitude more valuable. The container he was holding was worth at minimum nearly 100,000 credits on the open market. It would be enough to make him a comfortably rich man back on Mars that much was for sure, maybe even enough to settle up his bar tab with Emeline.

  "Sinjakama was a rich man, something that many on board attempted to take advantage of." The voice was low and seductive. Meade whirled around his coat fluttering behind him as he brought his ArmBar up and aimed and the voice coming from the doorway ready to incapacitate any threat which might be standing there. His contract was supposed to allow him to have access to anywhere on Rosetta, but still, he was a stranger in a strange land, and anyone who didn't like his investigation would only have to take a few steps to airlock him and Suresh out into deep space. He lowered his ArmBar relieved, but suspicious as he took in the woman who stood in the doorway.