Planet of Graves

by Marc Everitt

  Taylor stepped over the guard, and keyed the release mechanism on the door, climbed up the final set of stairs and was out on the surface. Now it was over and he was out of the station he decided to stop others from following. As the door swung shut behind him, he reached inside and punched the key lock into several pieces before retracting his arm from the decreasing gap between the doorframe and the horizontal hatch cover. He shook his hand, that had hurt; but it should stop anyone following him for long enough for him to put some distance between the base and him. He set off at a brisk pace to re-join his erstwhile colleagues, keen to see Eli again. “Hospitality in there was atrocious. I’ll be complaining to the travel agent,” he muttered.

  He was also keen to try to tie up the loose ends in his murder investigation before they all had to leave the planet. The mysterious alien played on his mind, but he would just have to deal with that situation as best as he could when the time came. The plains of Graves’ World, usually so bleak and uninviting to the eye, seemed to Taylor to be a wonderful sight. He thought it would take him at least three hours to reach the station, and he had a horrible feeling at the back of his mind. It was as if he felt that when he got there it wouldn’t be there anymore.

  He pushed this feeling aside as being the result of common paranoia, but still it bothered him. There were so many pieces of the puzzle that he was struggling to put together. The station had a murderer, that much was clear. There were more mysteries to occupy Taylor’s attention. Who the murderer was and why they had done the things they had done was a puzzle. Taylor had often wished that criminals followed the literary canon of the twentieth and twenty first century fictional detective stories such as Hercule Poirot, Charlie Chan and Miss Marple. In these tales, the villain always confessed their motive to a triumphant detective before being led away to their incarceration by the bumbling incompetent policeman.

  Taylor knew from experience that this was never what happened when villains were confronted with the evidence leading the detective to the conclusion of their guilt. They often had tried to kill him and had come up with all kinds of alibis of varying levels of inventiveness and believability. But they never held up their hands and said, ‘yes I admit it. It was me, in the study with the candle stick. And I would have got away with it too if it wasn’t for your pesky meddling’.

  Taylor tried to remember where he got that particular phrase from and decided he had probably read it in a book at some point. Probably one that he had been sent by the cursed book club and he had not had the strength of will to send it back to them. He was getting a little closer to the station now and time seemed to be passing fairly quickly for him. It always tended to when he was thinking about something of interest to him. He had a fairly good idea who the murderer was but he had no real evidence to prove their guilt, and could think of no possible motive. He knew well-enough, however, that sometimes the only motive for killing was a deeply hidden blood lust and love of the power that comes to a sick mind when a life is taken.

  These people were the ones Taylor feared the most, as he had no way of knowing when they would kill or who would be their next victim. In a strange way he had a mild form of respect for criminals who had a carefully constructed plan of action. Although he had no hesitation in bringing them to justice, solving their crimes at least left him with a feeling that the galaxy had an order to it. Things happened for a reason and he was not merely a piece of flotsam being tossed from random event to random event.

  The solving of these crimes gave him a feeling of satisfaction and closure. He was proud that he had brought seven murderer to justice, five arsonists, twelve extortionists, fourteen kidnappers, foiled two hostile corporate espionage cases, rescued seventeen children from a lift, found dozens of missing people. He had also been instrumental in the banning of ‘walking into the wind’ by those annoying mime artists that seemed to sap ones well to live. He had pushed for the criminalisation of the ‘being stuck in an invisible box’ act also but had not been able to push that one through.

  This mystery would, he was sure, be solved in good time. The trouble was he had now been told that he had a lot less time than he thought. Many people would have fled the planet immediately upon hearing what Dr Skandia had told Taylor, but he was determined to unmask the person responsible for the death of Hanley and Shanks. For that matter he was fairly sure that the alarm that had distracted him so critically in the courtyard was no accident either.

  If that was the case, then someone had wanted him out of the picture, and that made him all the more keen to be the architect of their downfall. Other things in his mind battled for the attention of his consciousness. The magnificent, mysterious alien he had seen could not be ignored. It bothered him that the alien had been so interested in his stomach. He wondered if he was putting on weight, but found it more likely that the restorative liquid was what had held the beings attention. It was difficult to tell but it had seemed as if the alien had recognised something about the liquid.

  Taylor could think of no reason why this should be the case, but kept thinking that it was surely no coincidence that the alien had come to the planet now. If the Doctor was correct, and Taylor had no reason to disbelieve him, then the world was going to tear itself apart very soon. If the alien had stopped by while passing then its timing was very bad indeed. No, he preferred to subscribe to the holistic approach. He assumed all things were related and connected until they were proved to be disparate.

  Therefore, he chose to think that the alien arriving on the planet was directly linked in some way to the events going on either on, or under, the surface. He wished he could find out just what the planet was doing? It obeyed no recognised patterns of stellar geology. It was at this point that Taylor remembered that he had a sample of the crust of the planet in his pocket and he sank his hand into the folds of his jacket and checked he hadn’t lost it in the melee at the bunker. He was relieved to find it safe and sound and made a mental note to have a good look at the fragment when he got back to the research station. He was looking forward to seeing Eli again, and felt sure that a lot had gone on in his absence. He hoped that Eli had remained observant while he was gone, because he was sure that the murderer would have been less cautious when they thought he was gone for good.

  They may have mistakenly given something away, which Eli had noticed. He formulated a plan of action, he knew time was not on his side. First, he would see what Eli had observed while he had been away, then he would study the fragment of crust he had in his pocket. He would try to expose the murderer with proof and try to ascertain their motive. He would get them all off planet in Maystone’s ship and try to avoid the powerful alien as best as he could. He knew, however, that the best laid plans of mice and men rarely went smoothly. He wondered what the best laid plans of mice consisted of - eat cheese, avoid cat, have human ear grafted on to back, star in humorous cartoons, that sort of thing. Not much of a plan really.

  He walked ever onward, confident that this time he was walking in the right direction but glad that he had taken a wrong turn and arrived at the Company bunker. It had provided him with some of the answers he was looking for. He firmly believed that everything happened for a reason.

  ***

  Executive Carlton was waking up from her enforced sleep a little earlier then Taylor West had anticipated. She was sitting up and rubbing the back of her head and wincing. If she was in a bad mood earlier that day then she certainly was not a happy woman now. She got to her feet gingerly and walked shakily for a distance along the corridor. She was annoyed that she had just been left in the hallway, instead of being taken to a medical officer. When she came across the blockage in the corridor caused by Taylor’s overloaded weapon she had a better idea why she had not had people coming to her aid. They simply could not get there. Her blood boiled. She spoke into her pocket com-unit. “All guards. This is Carlton,” she received a response almost immediately. She didn’t recognise the voice or the name of the guard who replied but there were
a lot of guards she didn’t know.

  “This is Watts. Executive, are you hurt?”

  “Never mind that. Do you have the man who did this?”

  “No, Executive. He has left the base and jammed the door behind him.” That was not the answer she had wanted and it took her a second to compose herself before she could continue. “I want him caught, before he can get back to the surface base and tell the others.”

  “Unlikely I’m afraid, Executive. He has got a twenty minute head start on us and we are having…. a little difficulty with the main door.”

  “I don’t want to hear that. What I want to hear is that you and as many men as you can find have got the door open and are going after this man as quickly as you can.”

  “What if he’s already reached the other station when we catch up with him?” the stunned guard asked. He was not prepared for the answer.

  “Then you make sure the integrity of our research stays intact. If he has got there already then they all have to be considered a security risk and you arrest them all. If you need to, then you use other methods to ensure their silence. Do I make myself clear?” Carlton hissed into her com-unit with venom. She was sure that her superior Executives would rather sanction the unexplained loss of a tiny research station team then allow the research they were doing here in the underground bunker to be public knowledge.

  The last thing the Company needed was hundreds of individuals visiting the planet as this stage. This was what would undoubtedly happen if the news were to leak out that they had discovered an element that could heal wounds to an amazing extent and could even restore life. ‘No’, she thought, ‘this West character must be silenced for good.’ She touched the large bump on the back of her head where she had been struck to render her unconscious and spoke into her com-unit once more. “And guard….”

  “Yes, Executive?”

  “Make sure that man suffers before he dies.”

  ***

  Eli’s face was one to behold. His eyes bulged to a point where it looked as if they may escape from their sockets. He had to force himself to breathe, as his body’s automotive functions seemed to have gone on some sort of holiday. His throat made strange guttural noises as he tried to vocalise and could not manage to do it. In summary, he was surprised to see Taylor West walk calmly into their quarters as if nothing had happened. Taylor smiled at him and asked how he was and it was then that Eli found his voice. “You were dead.” I saw it kill you!” he rest of his sentence seemed to him to be redundant in comparison and he decided to leave it at that.

  Taylor looked himself up and down and shrugged his head, “Nope. The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”

  “But your stomach. I saw it cut….,” Eli tailed off, his mind struggling to come to terms with what he could see in front of him. He pinched himself to check that he wasn’t dreaming. He wondered whether his friend was visiting him from beyond the grave. Taylor decided this time, his friend deserved an explanation and proceeded to tell Eli all about being dragged off to his death, and being brought back by the amazing liquid he had found. Then he told Eli about the alien he had found and the secret base that he had been to. He had been about to tell Eli that they were all in great danger and that the world would soon end when he noticed that his friend had passed out and was lying on the floor.

  ‘Might have been an idea to tell him all that a piece at a time,’ he thought and went into the bathroom to see if he could find any smelling salts. It was a lot for him to take in, but Eli had thought he was dead so he thought that he should have allowed his friend time to get used to him being alive before telling him stories of magic fluids, alien species and secret bunkers.

  When Eli opened his eyes, he saw Taylor wafting a small bottle of pungent smelling crystals under his nose. He pulled his head away, finding the smell unpleasant and propped himself up on his elbows. “Welcome back. Sorry about that,” Taylor beamed. Eli found it typical. He should have known that Taylor was not dead and was, in fact, having all kinds of fun outside the base.

  “So, what’s been going on here?” Taylor asked as he put the salts back in the cabinet. Eli tried to think what to say that could compare to what he had been told. “Well, we got the fence back up, and…. how did you get through it?” he interrupted himself.

  Taylor smiled and Eli decided to carry on regardless as he was sure pressing the matter would be pointless. “I’ve learned a lot about the team….”

  “I hoped you might,” Taylor jumped in, glad to see that he had been right. “What did you learn about them?”

  “Wait, I haven’t finished. We couldn’t save the Major. He died of blood loss,” Eli said with regret.

  Taylor seemed upset by this, more than Eli would have expected.

  “What?” he frowned. He could almost see the great West mind in motion. “Damn. That complicates things.”

  “Why does it complicate things?” Eli had no idea what his friend was getting at.

  Taylor sighed in his annoyance. “It’ll be difficult for me to prove he was the killer without being able to set him up.” Eli blinked several times as he thought about what Taylor had just said.

  “The Major. How do you figure that?”

  “Simple. He has secret camera in his quarters to watch all the team. He…..”

  “How do you know about that? I was about to tell you,” Eli said in despair. Taylor hated to be interrupted when he was explaining a conclusion he had come to.

  “Let me finish. He is the only one who can come and go through the fence with impunity. No one else could feed the creature outside without authority.” Eli had a thought but decided to wait until his friend was finished before voicing his concern. Taylor continued, “He has surveillance all over the base. Why install that? I think he was watching his back. There is something about this planet that he was prepared to kill for. And I think I have just been there.” He seemed to be finished for the moment.

  Eli took his chance, “Is that it?”

  “Well, it was only a suspicion. I broke into his room and saw the monitors, seemed suspicious to me. The access through the fence, though, is crucial. The murderer had to be able to come and go as they pleased.”

  “I think he was watching something other than his back through those monitors,” Eli commented. Taylor waited for an explanation. “He was using them to watch Lana Maxwell in bed. Chris practically battered him to death in the canteen about that. You should hang around the base a little more.”

  “No need for that.”

  “Anyway, you come and go as you please, with no authority card to get through the fence. What’s to stop someone else doing it?” Eli pointed out.

  Taylor shook his head firmly. “Nope. I don’t think any of these scientists have the knack of hot-wiring that fence like I have. They don’t have the background for this sort of crime. The Major is a military….”

  “WAS a military,” interrupted Eli.

  “OK, Was a military man, killing is far less alien to him. It fits so well.”

  “I think there’s something you should know. Something Alan told me about Chris.”

  “You still think it’s him then?” asked Taylor. He never went for the obvious option.

  “Well, Alan told me that Will talked to him the night before he died. He was scared that Maxwell was going to come after him.”

  “Why?” Taylor was interested in this.

  “It seems Will caught Chris making a device of some sort in the control room. He couldn’t see exactly what it was but Chris saw that he had noticed it and was not happy. Alan said that Will described the look Chris gave him as evil. He had definitely not wanted Will to see what he had been making.”

  Taylor thought out loud, “Did Will give Alan any idea what it looked like?”

  “Yes, he did. Will said that he couldn’t be sure but that it looked like a circuit bypass generator of some kind.”

  That made a big difference. Taylor knew that such a device, not allowed in
a Company station such as the one they were on, because of the security risks, could easily have allowed its bearer to leave the compound. All they would need to do would be to attach the unit to one of the thermo-locks and it would cut the power circuit before the lock and release that gate without them needing to have a key card. Taylor himself used a similar method to come and go as he wanted. “I see. Have you seen this device at all?” Taylor’s whole mood changed as he spoke.

  Eli replied that he had not but he had been keeping his eyes open for it. He decided to be bold and propose a theory of his own. “Let me tell you what I think. Hanley had an affair with Lana; Chris finds out and has his pet monster kill him. Will sees the device which Chris made to access the fence, Chris kills him too. What’s wrong with that?”

  Eli could see that Taylor was not convinced. “Chris isn’t the sort of person to feed that monster. He’s got a temper sure. But I don’t see him keeping a pet outside the station just in case he finds out his wife has been playing hide the sausage. No, someone has put a lot of thought into this. It’s not a knee-jerk reaction to infidelity.”

  “What about the bypass unit?” Eli pointed out, “that proves he was up to something.”

  Taylor agreed. “It does indeed. But it doesn’t explain why Chris would have brought a monster to the planet to kill Hanley, before the latter had even met his wife.”

  “What makes you think that the creature had been here that long?” Eli couldn’t see how Taylor could know that for certain. As Taylor started to explain, Eli realised an obvious fact he had overlooked. “No ships have come here except ours since the team arrived. The creature must have arrived on the same transport as the team. Someone felt they needed a contingency plan before they even arrived here,” Taylor mused. “Tell me everything Alan told you while I was away.” As the night wore on and darkness settled over the base like a blanket, Eli told Taylor everything he could remember.