"We are an Affiliate of United Solar," said the first man.
"Why are you armed?" Garrett looked down at the sidearms. "I don't--," he frowned and looked around at the scattered bodies.
"Our weapons are legal under the United Solar charter," the first man said. !Our actions are in accordance with law."
"We saved your life," the second officer said.
"The gang?" Garrett looked down and recognised one of his attackers, dead. "Thank you - I think." Garrett grimaced as a cut on his lip split. "I'm sorry. This is all a bit--." He shook his head.
"If there is anything you need to collect, we are taking any Affiliates left on V5 to Lunar."
"My partner," Garrett said.
"Where is your partner?"
"He--. He's died."
The men looked at each other, then back to Garrett.
"We only have room for living passengers," said the second man. "Our condolences, of course."
Garrett nodded. "I understand." He looked around the loading dock - at the bodies, his gutted ship, more bodies. "Was all this really necessary?" he said, gesturing with his left hand.
"Absolutely," said the first man.
"Could you not have imprisoned them?"
"And fed them, clothed them, processed them - for how long and where?" The first man shook his head. "No. Our actions were necessary and ordered directly by the Lunar Secretary himself."
"But all this death--," Garrett said, holding his ribs, "--and those weapons."
"All of our actions were perfectly legal under United Solar law," the first man said. "As an Affiliate, we have orders to offer you safe passage to Lunar."
Garrett nodded slowly. "My hand's in a pretty bad way," he said looking down at his twisted fingers and a dislocated thumb.
"We have rescued some Muedin officers who are on board our ship - I'm sure they'll help."
Garrett pursed his lips. "I'm sure they will," he said.
# # #
Chao-xing: in region of Phobos, Mars
04/06/6,544, 10:14 (IST)
Chao-xing stared in silence across the field of mining drones as she propelled her vacuum suit away from the Occulto's airlock.
"Look at the size of these things," said Armand in her helmet.
She moved closer a half-constructed drone. "I've seen orbiters smaller than these," she said.
A swarm of hand-sized robots reshaped the surface of the drone. It reminded her of a sculptor creating an image from a formless lump of clay.
"Well, they're definitely new and they're bigger than the ones we saw near Lunar," she said. She edged closer to a drone: a smooth, gleaming hulk against the blackness of space.
"Look," she pointed to an asteroid being propelled towards another drone, its surface crawling with thousands of crab-like robots.
"What are they doing?" asked Armand, moving closer to Chao-xing's right.
"They're breaking them down to extract useful materials. These drones aren't made from nothing."
Small lumps of molten metal floated like bubbles from the asteroid as the robots shaped them into the half-built structure, seamless, fluid.
"They're amazing," Armand whispered.
"That's nothing compared to some Yao technology."
"I think we've seen enough," said Armand. "Let's get back to the ship. If we get spotted out here--."
"I should have known about this," said Chao-xing. "I'm going to board the orbiter."
"You can't," said Armand. "We're going back to the Occulto now."
"I'm not going anywhere. I need answers and this is where I'm going to find them."
Armand sighed. "Okay, okay. I'll go. We can't risk you being recognised."
"You'll go? You'll see if there's a Yao on board and find out what's going on?"
"Yes."
"If I lose you on the communicator - I'm coming after you."
"I wouldn't expect less."
# # #
Natsuki: Judiciary Holding Cells, Insularum 1, Lunar
11/07/6,544, 05:23 (IST)
Natsuki sat with her legs hanging over the side of the bunk. Her sleep had been restless and filled with disjointed dreams about Riko and Hayao, Akira Yamamoto and Takeshi Ozu. Looking down, she frowned at the sight and smell of the ill-fitting yellow prison garb. She brushed dirt from her cold, bare soles, cursing the binds around her wrists.
The cell door swung open as Takeshi strode in flanked by two guards and a third to the rear. He wore a light grey suit of soft fabric, his shirt was white and fastened with a clasp adorned fine leather swirls.
"What do you want?" Natsuki growled.
"Natsuki," Takeshi said through an ironic smile. "I hope the room is to your taste?"
Natsuki blinked, her eyes sore, bloodshot.
"I chose this cell especially for you. It's the room where your husband spent his last night and where you will spend yours."
"You bastard," she whispered.
"Of course, you'll have a trial, but you did defame the Lunar Secretary. The evidence is clear and--," he smirked, "I think you already know what happens to those who cross me."
Natsuki put her head in her hands. "Just leave me alone."
"I'm looking forward to performing the cleansing ritual on you," he whispered as Natsuki cringed. "I'm going to take my time with you."
"Why are you doing this?" Natsuki bit her trembling lip - it was all she could do to stop herself from crying.
Takeshi laughed bitterly. "Because you are a traitor, your husband was a traitor and I am sure your daughter will grow up to be a traitor too."
"You leave Riko--."
"Your daughter is safe," Takeshi spat. "Don't be so fucking stupid. She's what? Two, three years old? She'll be reassigned a family, her name will be changed, and hopefully the shame of the Kurosawa name will die with you."
"Shame?" Natsuki said, raising her voice to a snarl. "What do you know of shame? You lied about Hayao publically to cover your bad decisions."
"Hayao was a traitor," he said, his tone impassive, deadpan.
"Hayao was the nearest thing you've ever had to a conscience," Natsuki said through clenched teeth. "You know he had absolutely nothing to do with the Purdah - you know that."
"You didn't like him because he wasn't afraid to tell you the truth when you needed it - that's the simple truth of the matter."
"Truth? The truth is what I say it is," he snapped. "Nobody gives a shit about truth - citizens want to feel safe. By getting rid of traitors - especially those closest to me - demonstrates to all the citizens that their safety is paramount."
Natsuki shook her head. "What's happened to you Takeshi? You used to be a good man. We used to be friends - good friends. What happened?"
"Well, you won't have to worry about that soon," he said. "Goodbye Natsuki, and good luck tomorrow," he said as a guard opened the cell door.
"You bastard," she said, hope slipping away.
# # #
Garrett: Molotok Cruiser, in region of Venus
02/07/6,544, 12:01 (IST)
Garrett gritted his teeth as the drill pushed into his chest. Although the surgery drone had numbed his ribs with anaesthetic, its manipulators tugged his flesh, causing an uncanny sensation across his upper body. The drone filled in his broken ribs with a warm gel that set solid within seconds, sealing the entry wound as it pulled out. The drone was two metres in height and reminded Garrett of a headless torso. It had four mechanical arms mounted with various drills, lasers, clamps and blades. Its surface was a dull cream criss-crossed by rubber tubes.
Garrett winced at the smell of burning flesh, naked with his arms at his side. The medical room had white walls and a single bunk. He frowned at the queue of other patients waiting along the wall and into the corridor. A Fune engineer with blue coveralls coughed and spluttered something thick and green from her mouth.
With a smooth, fluid motion, the drone's manipulator picked up Garrett's right hand. A shot of pain ran up his arm, so the drone pumped more
meds and anaesthetic into him with a quick pin-prick. It hissed and gurgled as it wiped the blood from Garrett's chest.
"Careful," Garrett said.
The drone worked quickly, it made subtle adjustments to Garrett's finger bones and sealed the fractures with gel. Garrett sighed as the drone pulled away.
He turned his right hand, flexing his fingers, curling them into a fist. He pulled his dirty coveralls on and felt no pain in his ribs as he leaned.
"Much better," he said.
# # #
Ajay: The Coraygar, in region of Titan, Saturn
03/07/6,544, 16:20 (IST)
Ajay barged shoulder-first through the door of the research labs as he scanned the room for Taslim.
He walked across the blue painted steel floor, fists clenched. The long room was clean but disorganised. Each surface was crowded with microscopes, scanners, terminals, notes, tools and empty cups. He passed flickering streams of data and images of proteins displayed on screens, and approached a middle-aged woman with curled grey hair and a deep-set frown.
"What are you working on?" Ajay asked.
The woman eyed him with a raised eyebrow before turning back to her terminal. "We've received fragments of the Yao's longevity treatment - I'm just trying to make sense of the data."
"That's pretty big - how did you get hold of that?"
"Armand Gul," she said.
Ajay gave a knowing nod. "I've not heard from Gul in a long time. I didn't even know--."
"The data's pretty meaningless without context though," she continued, gesturing to the terminal. "There are a lot of references to other procedures we still know nothing about."
Ajay ran a hand over his hair back and sighed. "This is a start, but being able to penetrate their treatments will change everything." Ajay squinted at the display for several seconds. "These are unusual," he said.
"Very unusual, but once you get a feel for the general language it gets easier."
"Do you work with Taslim?"
"Not really, I work mainly with Yao materials. He's more on the Muedin side - occasionally we've worked together - he's very focused."
Ajay scratched the back of his head. "Is he with Azra?"
The woman laughed. "I don't have time for idle gossip," she said, turning her back to Ajay. "Excuse me - I'm really very busy."
"Is there anyone around working on Muedin research?"
The woman signalled towards the far end of the laboratory.
"Thanks." He strode towards a group of four researchers taking turns looking into a microscope. A short, bearded man turned as Ajay approached.
"Sohail, how are you my good man?" Ajay said, smiling.
"It's the Union's most wanted," Sohail said as Ajay reached out a hand. "You should see this."
Sohail gestured for Ajay to look into a microscope as the other researchers moved aside.
"What am I looking at?" Ajay asked.
"We've worked out how to reprogram these cancer cells. Taslim came up with this protein that makes the cells change their structures. But it's so extreme that they just rip themselves apart."
Ajay lifted his eyes from the view and smiled at Sohail's wide-eyed enthusiasm. "This is Taslim's work?"
"He's quite brilliant. He's doing stuff with proteins we've never even thought of before." Sohail leaned back over the microscope.
"You like him then?"
"Who, Taslim? He's a good guy." Sohail shrugged, then turned to Ajay. "Do you ever get the feeling that we're on the verge of something great? That we're about to crack something that's going to change everything?"
"Every day," Ajay said. "Every day."
# # #
Janis: Personal Quarters, Titan Orbiter, Saturn
12/07/6,544, 01:13 (IST)
Janis awoke to find her bunk empty. She placed her hand on the space where Mataes slept to find it cold. "Mat?" she whispered. She listened in the darkness. She was alone.
She sat up and stretched, yawning and blinking the sleep from her eyes. With a stiff neck, she slipped from the bunk and pulled the soft wool blanket around her shoulders.
Slipping through the door, Janis turned right down the corridor and walked beneath a dozen dim blue halos before reaching the communal bathroom. She sat on a toilet with a shiver, the seat cold against the backs of her thighs.
As she pissed, she heard low voices through the wall behind her. Not daring to flush her waste away, she crept out from the bathroom to listen.
"You've got to keep her sweet," the first voice said. "She's a tool of the revolution, but you need--." The words were muffled, unclear. "--the wedding will cement that--."
The voice sounded familiar. A part of her wanted to walk around the corner and join in the discussion, but another part of her revelled in the thrill of eavesdropping. Holding her breath, she edged a few steps closer.
"I know she's thick, but that's the point." Janis recognised Arfo's voice. "She's obedient and malleable - you need to stick to the plan." There was threat in Arfo's voice, a harshness she almost didn't recognise. She leaned closer, pressing her body hard against the coldness of the rough metal wall, shrouded in shadow at the mid-point between two blue halos.
"I can't stand her though. She's plain, she's boring - she does nothing for me. What am I getting from this?"
"You fucked her though, didn't you?"
"Well, yes - what would you have done if it was there in front of you?"
Janis froze as she realised the second voice belonged to Mataes.
"Look, we're done with her now, surely?" Mataes said.
"If you don't continue the engagement with Janis, people will suspect."
Janis gasped as a sudden pain gripped her chest. A horrible sinking sensation washed over her. She wanted to cry out, to scream, but instead she moved in silence back to her room.
She climbed into her bunk and pulled her blanket tight around her. She lay for a long time, staring into the dark.
When Mataes returned, Janis pretended she was asleep. He lay next to her, rigid, silent. They remained awake until morning.
# # #
Illegal crops destroyed in Aghoro raids
Originally published by The Martian, 28/06/6,543
Aghoro has said it has had to put another Martian farm to torch after finding illegal vegetables groaning on an independent farm in north-east Mawrth.
The crop of potatoes was found to have grown from seeds not provided by Aghoro.
Rep Daan Bakker (Aghoro) said: "Aghoro work tirelessly to provide the best seeds for food production.
"It is unfortunate that some farmers choose to undermine our work, thereby undermining the security of our Union.
"Illegal seeds are untested and unsafe, farmers and citizens should not accept food which has been grown from Purdah seeds.
"Those farmers who choose to disobey the law will be punished with the full force of the Judiciary."
Karl Greenberg, leader of the Free Mars party, said: "The Lunarcentric bureaucrats of United Solar continue to put the needs of Mars at the bottom of their priorities list.
"Aghoro destroyed tens of thousands of potatoes in the name of justice - this is completely ridiculous.
"There is no evidence whatsoever that Aghoro potatoes are any different to Purdah ones, except that farmers are able to replant Purdah seeds.
"Aghoro only cares about its own profits - it's time Mars cut ties with United Solar so this type of thing can't happen again.
"Farmers deserve better - Mars deserves better."
# # #
Chapter Eleven
Tshilidzi: Personal Office, Judiciary, Insularum 1, Lunar
08/07/6,544, 14:15 (IST)
Tshilidzi's dark eyes stung from the days of reading, collating and examining the evidence - he thought the entire investigation was hopeless.
His chair creaked as he leaned back. He wondered what else could connect the murders. TA calculated and coordinated attack killed the Yaos - that's all he knew for certain. As t
o who committed these deaths, he still had nothing concrete.
Everyone had theories based on prejudice, hearsay and assumption - but there was no reliable evidence to add weight to these claims. Many of the theories were plausible; some convincing; others stretched credulity to its limits, with paranoid conspiracies being touted by otherwise reliable Representatives.
Muedin and Aghoro were of the view the Purdah killed the Yao. They believed the Purdah wanted to take over Yao interests or create a power vacuum with the Assembly.
The Boeki suggested the Secretary may have ordered the deaths. Their reasoning was unclear and instantiated.
Other Assembly members suggested disgruntled Yao workers across the Solar System worked together to enact revenge on their masters. This was far-fetched, requiring more resources and coordination than feasible.
Another theory suggested the machines themselves were defective, and something went wrong at that particular moment because of an error in the model of the drone. Tshilidzi entertained this idea briefly but concluded the Yao had constructed thousands of identical drones across the Solar System and the error - if it can be called an error - only occurred at a particular moment in the presence of a Yao family member. Tshilidzi rejected this theory.
The investigation rested on the mining drones.
Tshilidzi cross-referenced the serial numbers with United Solar's database, but found the drones were of three different designs and manufactured local to the murders. This raised more questions than it answers. He knew the Yao set up factories wherever they mined and produced their drones in the vicinity of the work site, often recycling or jettisoning the machines once the mine was no longer productive.
The drones must have been programmed remotely - but by whom?
Tshilidzi sighed, he could see a pattern emerging. He was on the verge of a breakthrough, but the facts didn't add up.
# # #
Natsuki: Judiciary Holding Cells, Insularum 1, Lunar
13/07/6,544, 04:12 (IST)
As the Gravity Flipped Page 14
