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“It is a statuette approximately this long,” Sharné was holding her hands about thirty centimeters apart. “It is a small-scale representation of a Berralton Glow Hawk with its wings in the folded position. The animal it is fashioned after is a birdlike creature native to Berralton. You could say the Glow Hawk is closer to an earth-extinct flying reptile than to a present-day bird. The living animal does have rudimentary feathers, but it glides rather than flies. Its body is about the same size as an adult man but naturally carries much less mass. Although not an active threat to humans, it can be quite ferocious when disturbed. It was the first creature of Golstar encountered by the Founder. He is credited for its discovery.”
Owens became more relaxed on seeing Sharné’s attitude continue to thaw as she began to describe the assignment.
He asked, “Why is it named a Glow Hawk? Is there some special significance to its name?
“It makes its home only in the upper reaches of the Radiant Mountains, a mountain range that lies east of the capital. The rocky crags where it nests are covered with bioluminescent lichen. This gives the mountains a blue-green glow after dark. The Glow Hawk rubs against the lichen and at night, when it hunts, it appears ghostlike from the glow given off from the residual bioluminescence on its feathers, hence the name Glow Hawk.”
“Can you describe the material the statuette is made of?”
“Certainly, the body is comprised of Silverene crystal, a naturally-occurring mineral native only to Berralton. The head is sculptured out of pure platinum. The wing areas are striated with ribbon inlays of emerald and sapphire. Its eyes are diamond-cut rubies. I am afraid that is all that I remember of its construction. I brought a detailed description and scale reproduction of the statuette from Berralton, but it was lost along with the Saber.”
“Well, from your description I have a pretty good idea what it looks like. And, I can guess it must be quite valuable.” He hesitated. “But can it be worth all the effort and expense Golstar expended in getting me here? I don’t say this to be disrespectful, but you must have your own investigators who are capable of tracking it down.”
Sharné nodded, “I can understand where you might think it so. And indeed, it is true we have our own police agencies. If it was only the simple recovery of a missing artifact, the investigation could be conducted by our Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement. However, the situation is a bit more problematic.”
Owens waited for her to explain.
“The statuette is more valuable than you can imagine. It was a personal possession of the Founder, General Golan Berral Light. The crystal Glow Hawk was a gift from his grateful followers, the first settlers of Berralton. It is almost five centuries old. Thus, it takes on a far greater worth through its direct association with the Discoverer of Golstar, the Founder of our civilization.”
She became more animated. “Prior to his discovery of Golstar, before he led the last celebrated migration of humanity to this system, Golan Berral Light was a general of ancient Earth’s military. In spite of the turbulent times that followed the Great Desertion, he quickly rose through the ranks of his peers to command the army of the greatest nation left on the planet. As one of Earth’s last powerful military leaders, he forged alliances with many of the diverse sovereignties that still remained on old Earth.”
Owens was interested to note Sharné’s reference to the Great Exodus as the ‘Great Desertion.’ The seeds of antipathy between the Confederated Planets and Golstar had been sown much earlier than he or anyone had supposed.
“Many people of that time believed he would eventually assume the reins of a world leader. However, it would not be, for they did not reckon his destiny would lead him to choose a far different path. His early successes had come to him with relative ease, yet he still felt empty, a vessel for greatness yet to be filled.
He entered into a period of inner reflection… a search for his true purpose. His quest for personal discovery was soon followed by a holy revelation. He was gifted with a number of visions and through those visions, he learned of the Prophecy. Guided by the Prophecy and through his own inherent leadership and wisdom, he gathered together remnants of humanity from a number of military branches existing within the splintered societies that remained scattered across the face of the mother planet. The Founder believed military honor and discipline would play a principle role in fulfilling the Prophecy.”
Owens listened closely to Sharné’s words. Her words flowed easily as if memorized. Her vocabulary and phrasing were evolving, and her description began to sound like a litany.
“The Founder gathered the finest representatives of humanity and unified them under his noble banner. Word spread and others sought to join him and his followers. Only those that met the Founder’s high moral standard were allowed to unite in humanity’s last and greatest exodus; a great voyage to culminate in the creation of a new society, a society based on the best values garnered from military discipline and Earth’s finest civilizations. It would be a society where humankind would flourish and achieve its’ highest potential.”
Owens ignored her pious pronouncement. However, at the reference to ‘Earth’s finest civilizations,’ he thought back to his observations aboard the Light Saber. One of those civilizations must have included ancient Victorian England. He remembered his feeling of recognition when first he saw the internal design and furnishings of the Saber, including the cut of Sharné’s robe and the guard’s attire. It had all reminded him of that period of Earth’s past.
He held back comment. He had told Sharné he wouldn’t mention the Saber again, but he couldn’t help but think about the Victorian image the ship had mirrored. That was something he knew through his own past research. After all, the Holmes was named after his favorite fictional character, the famous literary detective of the Victorian era penned by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He wondered if she had made any connections to his ship’s name.
Sharné was unaware of Owens’ momentary distraction. “You must understand the Founder not only led a fleet of settlers, he created the very values intrinsic to our civilization and the foundation of our beliefs.”
“It’s not hard to understand why he is so important to your society.”
“Yes. So now you can see that as a personal memento of the Founder, the most central and revered figure in our history, the crystal Glow Hawk is of far greater value than the materials of which it is comprised, or for that matter, the exquisite craftsmanship employed to create such a treasure. To some it is even considered a religious icon and perhaps the most important and valuable artifact we possess.”
Owens said carefully, “Okay, but wouldn’t that be even more of a reason to refer the case to your own agencies? I would think that a priceless historical and religious symbol such as the one you’ve just described would be better left to the investigations of an agency internal to Golstar.”
“Your point is well taken, and I would agree with you under normal circumstances,” Sharné answered.
Owens shrugged, “Well, so far nothing related to my summons to Golstar has been normal. Okay, so things aren’t normal. Are you allowed to explain them to me?”
She had rehearsed her answer to this inevitable question while back on Berralton. “Like any human society that has existed as long as ours, small number of political factions has come into being over time. I am sure you are familiar with similar organizations existing within your own society.”
Owens nodded.
She went on, “Such groups within Golstar range in ideologies from one extreme to another. Some subscribe to the ultraconservative, while other embrace the code of the unrestrained liberal. Naturally, there are a number of them that fall somewhere in between, but all are outside of the political mainstream. Although they are relatively small in number, any one of these political factions would gladly use the loss of this symbol to promote their own agenda.”
Owens said, “That does strike a familiar note. We do shar
e the common malady of all governments in power. I imagine that how a government accommodates such diverse political opinions will affect its tenure, whether it enjoys prolonged success or suffers setbacks or eventual collapse.”
She seemed not to have heard him. “It is highly probable there are members belonging to some of these groups who, at this very moment, are entrenched within our law enforcement organizations,” she continued. “Should we deploy our own resources, we can be almost certain word of the missing artifact would soon spread.”
“I see,” he said, “that would cause you unwanted publicity.”
“Yes, the public outcry alone would be difficult to manage. Allusions to wrongdoing or negligence on the part of the government would greatly compound the issue and serve to further these misguided splinter groups’ agendas.”
She frowned, “Although there is no question the government would be successful in countering the false propaganda, the cost to the public trust, though not significant, is something we believe should be best avoided. Therefore, we do not wish any adverse publicity surrounding the statuette, if at all possible. Your assignment then is to locate and recover the holy artifact and do it as quietly as possible.”
She allowed a small sigh to escape, “I will tell you there is another contributing factor for not employing our own resources.”
“Go on,” Owens urged.
She nodded, “Historically, our society has experienced a relatively low rate of theft-related crime. If the statuette is missing because it was deliberately taken, our law enforcement would experience no little degree of difficulty as they have very limited experience in this area. I am not alone in my fear they would be hard-pressed to conduct a discrete, comprehensive investigation. Their honest efforts could also result in unwanted publicity. An additional factor is that your occupation, private investigation, has not been needed or ever practiced within Golstar. We, therefore, had to seek such services outside of our borders.”
“Okay, I have a better understanding of the assignment and why you chose to go outside for an investigator. Now, just out of curiosity,” Owens asked, “What is the range of your penalties for such crimes?”
She looked at him with a puzzled expression, “Range? There is but one penalty that applies to all felonies and that is life-termination by a firing squad.”
So, he thought, they still practiced that ancient, barbaric form of punishment, and for all felonies. It must be a part of the military culture that was integrated into Golstar society. Owens was troubled to discover Golstar continued the archaic practice, and its indiscriminate application to a broad category of crimes, but he gave no outward reaction.
“So,” he said, returning to the missing artifact, “you’re keeping the possible theft of the Glow Hawk from the public?”
“Yes, only a few know of its theft, if that is what truly has occurred.”
“Okay,” he said. “Then for this discussion, let’s assume that it was stolen.”
She agreed, “Very well.”
He asked, “Do you know how many people actually know that the statuette is missing and their identities?”
“Yes,” she replied. “Fortunately, it is few. The Grand Patriarch, the Guardian of the Way, the Master Curator, his three assistants and of course, myself, are the only ones that we are aware of, who know the Glow Hawk is missing.”
“Since it is such an important symbol to your people, I assume it was on some sort of public display before it was taken?”
“That is correct. It is normally displayed prominently at Founders Hall in the Capital. We believe it was removed sometime after the Hall was closed. Fortunately, the discovery of the theft was made before the Hall reopened to the public. A number of exact duplicates were made in the past for display in various cities annually on Founders Day. When the Glow Hawk was discovered missing, one such facsimile was placed in its stead. To the unschooled eye, it is identical.”
“I see,” he said rubbing his chin.
Though he hid it from Sharné, Owens had listened to her story with growing incredulity. It hadn’t made much sense. The plot read like an ancient, poorly written dime-store novel right out of his collection of old detective stories.
Sharné looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to comment.
He tried to appear that he was seriously considering the problem. He was, but not in the manner she likely perceived. None of it hung together for him. First of all, the crystal bird had been missing for a long time. He estimated at least six months. How had they kept it a secret for such a long time? If it had been stolen, it was likely taken by one of those political factions. It would seem that if it was taken for some sort of political gain, the news of the theft would have already spread. It just didn’t hold together.
In addition, if he overlooked the length of time it had been missing, he could not fathom how they could expect to continue the cover-up if he, a citizen of Confederated Planets, were to conduct the investigation. Orientation or no orientation, his ignorance of their customs and religion would eventually trip him up and shine like a beacon to any member of Golstar society he came in contact with. Although his exposure to the people of Golstar was limited so far to Sharné, the guard and a steward, he imagined his physical presence would stand out as well, since the gravity on the Light Saber was close to e-normal. This indicated similar conditions would be found down on the surface of Berralton. With his Loder physique, he would not easily blend in with people bred in lighter gravity conditions.
He gave Sharné a reassuring smile, though he knew there was something else lurking behind the contrived story surrounding the missing artifact, a lot more, but he couldn’t begin to guess what it was. Obviously, Sharné knew more than she was telling. He could only be sure of one thing; they wanted him here for a reason totally unrelated to the one she just gave.
He asked one last question. “May I ask why you, or I should say why Golstar, selected me, specifically, for this job?”
“I do not have all the details,” she answered. “And I do not wish to disappoint you, but you will understand we were limited in our search to what was readily available through your public information channels.”
“Oh?”
She appeared to hesitate, “Yes. To put it more simply and somewhat bluntly, we reviewed a number of private investigative agencies that advertised in your commercial media. We narrowed a list down to a small number of agencies that had easily verifiable references on public file. The list was relatively small. Obviously, your agency was included in that list. You had an excellent reputation with the added advantage you were the sole employee of your firm.”
“I see,” he said. They had found him in a directory, or so they said. The added factor that he was the sole employee added a number of other questions in his mind. Her last answer only added to his feeling of dissatisfaction. However, he decided, for the time being, he would keep his doubts and other questions to himself. There were other, more pressing issues that needed to be addressed, like their survival for one.
CHAPTER 31
The street remained virtually empty; the walkways on either side were dotted here and there with the occasional pedestrian. Vacant buildings, former centers for mercantile and mining exchanges looked blindly into the street, their once bustling hallways deserted. Their exteriors were beginning to show the first stages of dereliction. Once pristine facades were now faded, a gray film of dirt covered the outer walls. Refuse had accumulated in corners and cul-de-sacs; decorative ironwork revealed faint patches of brown, the first signs of corrosion. A few small businesses stubbornly remained open, refusing to recognize the encroaching decay.
Loudly wailing the urgency of its mission, an emergency vehicle sped down the empty street. The strobe of its emergency lights flickered against building facades, creating the look of an ancient motion picture and highlighting the shabbiness of this neglected part of the city. The vehicle quickly passed without slowing, its urgent business being elsewhere within th
e city. The echoes of its passage faded into the distance, and quiet returned to the empty street.
A woman of indeterminate age walked briskly down the stone walk, carrying a courier packet tightly under one arm. The autumn air was unseasonably warm, and she wore a light work-shift that identified her as someone who worked in city administration. The woman was tall and although the work-shift hid her figure, she appeared slightly overweight. Her hair was a carrot-red and framed a plain, but not unattractive face.
Minister Joselé resisted the urge to adjust her wig. How she hated her disguise. The heavy padding she wore beneath her clothing was hot, and the unaccustomed makeup on her face itched terribly. She ignored her discomfort and strode purposely forward, as if on some official errand. She was careful not to walk too fast or too slow. Her steps clicked loudly on the stone walk. She took no time to admire any of the worn, intricately carved scenes in each stone tile as she might have normally. She had to get to the meeting place without being intercepted by the Grand Patriarch’s agents.
She was pleased that she had foreseen an eventual confrontation with the Grand Patriarch and had prepared measures to ensure her freedom. She had secreted clothing and disguises in a number of abandoned buildings in strategic areas across the city. The old fool had underestimated her, but that was not surprising; he was, after all, quite insane. His insistence on the radical actions to address the crisis, the crisis he had created in his own mind, had long ago demonstrated he had become unstable. A smile fleetingly crossed her lips. No matter, the Preservers would soon have matters back in hand.
She concentrated back on her purpose. She surreptitiously glanced around the area. There were only three people in her immediate vicinity. So far, the few pedestrians she encountered on the walkway had not given her a second glance. She chose the route carefully. She was heading in the general direction of the city's administration center. As she had expected, no one saw anything special about a harried civil servant hurrying along the street to complete some mundane task for the city bureaucracy. By hiding in plain sight, she had so far escaped the notice of the Grand Patriarch’s agents.
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