by Unknown
As they placed the doctor on the bed and waited for the wake up serum to fully kick in, Val noticed how worried Timor became.
“Are you okay?’ He asked him.
“I was just wondering, we are doing all this crazy stuff, being shut at, bombs exploding, messing with the assassin, but…But what if all of these has nothing to do with the transporter?”
Val took a good and hard look at him and tried to figure out where exactly was this coming from.
“Maybe…maybe all of these, the assassin, the doctor and the police that is trying to assassinate emperor’s chief investigators has nothing to do with the transport accident, and we had accidently stumbled on it.
"Maybe…But regardless of anything, we certainly know that it was not a purity bullshit theory the commissioner from back home was trying to sell…And if that is what they want me to say it was, they are wrong! Do you know what will happen if I do that?
“The least what will happen to the maintenance crew is that they will be fired and blacklisted…that’s the least, the best case scenario. And that is good enough that they can never make enough credit to buy an extra life when they get to be 80…that is equal to death sentence, do you understand? And I will not stand for killing innocent people. I will not! Regardless who likes it or not!”
After a moment, as Timor said nothing, Val got control over himself again.
“Timor, do you have something else you need to tell me?” Timor eyes hit the floor like a fifty pound dumbbell.
“He pressured you, he got to you, didn’t he?”
His face lines suddenly became too worried, too revealing, unable to hide anything.
“It seems like he is very much involved into this whole mess. When you run the scan of that material, whatever that is, using my code, it seems you triggered some red flags. The commissioner is obviously the end of the stick of that red flag.”
“I, I, I am so sorry….It’s not about me…I, I wanted to earn credits for my parents… they will never make it on the money they make. They took a big loan out for my younger brother to become more like me, but it didn’t work out, and now…”
Val didn’t know how to replay to that.
“You haven’t done nothing wrong, Timor. All of this can be fixed somehow. Just tell me, what did he want you to do? Tell me!”
“I am sorry…I am sorry.” Timor said as he took out his stunt gun out,
As Val saw the gun, he first thought that he read Timor completely wrong, that all this time he actually didn’t have a clue who Timor really was.
“Commissioner started proceedings against you…you are to be stripped of all your rankings, I think. There is going to be hearing in the Capital that should finalize that.
“I cannot help you anymore…” Timor continued, “You better use this stunt gun on me…at least that way I might not lose my job, and I will be able to save my family.”
“Listen to me Timor,” Val said as he extended his hand and took away the gun,” I do not know what will happen next, but I promise you I will do everything to get to the bottom of this, okay?
“When is the hearing going to take place?”
“They told me that I have to come back at once.”
“So they need you as a witness…The hearing cannot go on without having you as an eye witness…they need that, and they think since you are compromised you will oblige.”
“But what do I do? If the hearing can’t go on without me, then what if I never go there, or go someplace else…?”
“No, that would only implicate you. That would only reveal to them that you have chosen my side, and that would make you useless. They would discard you…That is not the way. You have a high liability you carry so you are easy to manipulate…They know that…They will find that as a useful tool. And you can definitely be useful if you play their game. That is the way the game is played.
“I know about your parents...I know they are indebted, and that they will never meet the price...I know that is why you accepted the job. That is, kind of, one of the first things that got me interested in you, to tell you the truth.”
“It's not fair. They work so hard, all day long in the fields...”
“I know…But, in a way, that is how your mother preferred it to be. “
“My mother?” Timor was very confused out of sudden, wasn’t even sure what Val meant by it.
“Yes, well…I never met your mother face to face, only heard of her…”
“Heard…from whom? She is just a farmer-“ Timor was confused “What have you heard of her?”
“Her name, a long before she became your mother, was Siya Taron. Your mother was one of the infamous 2000 candidates to enter the first ECI program…I know this for I helped cover up her identity. We shared the same mentor…Derran.”
“No…”
“Yes…She probably didn’t tell you anything, didn’t want to burden you with anything. That must have been it. At first, I thought you knew about her past, but then I realized she has not told you anything.”
“Why, why would she do that? Not tell me anything, leave ECI program?”
“Like I said, and I am only guessing here, she probably didn’t tell you because she wanted for you to find your own way, instead of following hers…She actually didn’t want you in ECI, but when you decided to try out, I took it upon myself to bring you in as my apprentice.
“I do not know off all the details why your mom left, but I know there were problems, and her existence was threatened. She made a lot of enemies dong the job. Also, she fell in love with your father, wanted a way out. My mentor helped. I helped. And then, you were born…
“Maybe when you see her, you tell her what I have told you so far, and then she can tell you more. She will know better than me why she dropped out of ECI and tried to cover up her identity.”
Timor seemed unable to process all of what Val was saying. He sat down, staring, without moving, at one point beside his feet.
“So, you see, you can’t risk their lives. Can’t risk anyone looking further in the details of your mother. So you should definitely go and do as you are told. But there is something else you can do.”
“What?”
“Go back, but…”
“Yes…?
“Go back using a freight transporter. Use any excuse you want, you made a mistake, you didn’t know they were 5 times slower, you were just trying to save the department money…”
Timor started to smile. “Yeah, I’ll figure something out.”
“They need your testimony to put me away, and extra forty days will be enough for me to find out what really happened…” Has to be enough to figure it all out.
…
“I am sorry for hitting you earlier. That might not have been called for.”
“Well, thank you for not letting that woman kill me.”
“You saw what I did with her. So, now that you know you may actually live, you need to talk to me…Because, I know you can help.”
“I can talk, but I do not think I can help you.”
“I think you can.”
“Maybe, if you promise me leniency, I can say what I think…”
“Fair enough.”
“Do you think I can have a glass of water first…?”
“Well, first of all, ECI Val, how much do you know about a scientist called Wilnis Bourton?”
“You mean, the father of the Fatalistic movement?
“Well, the Fatalistics took him as a father but he really didn't have anything to do with it, as I understand it.”
“I know Bourton has been dead already for at least fifty years if I remember it right.”
“Yes, but that means little…Bourton, as you may know, developed psycho-neural networks, mathematical probability models. He simplified and then quantified a human behavior based on number of factors, and used it to predict our future behavior...”
“Yes, I know some of that. He predicted that the world would end.”
“N
o, not precisely. He worked with probabilities testing how each economical, political or social model would play out in the long run. His models showed what needs to be avoided for the empire to survive, and what can, of course, bring it down. It’s not about the end of the world, just about the collapse of the present governing structure.”
“What does that have to do with the senator?”
“It doesn’t have anything directly to do with the senator, but it has to do with me.”
“How?”
“You know I am a medical doctor. What you do not know is that I created one of the factors which might change everything in the empire.“
“What?
“I devoted more than 500 years researching how to naturally regenerate human cells. Not using some kind of mechanical machines but using purely natural catalysts.”
“That would change everything. Don’t need statistical, psycho-neural networks to see that…”
“Well, if you want to put it that way.”
“How far are you from finding this solution?”
“I thought we were near…well, the senator, who shared the same believes and convictions as I do, believed he found one of those biological catalysts. He was ready to bring them to me, so we could continue with the research.”
“When you realized what you had at your hand, and how big threat you posed to the empire, you tried to cover your tracks?”
“Sort of, I was not worried about the emperor’s reaction. Surprisingly, Bourton’s models clearly showed that the emperor himself would not have to worry about losing power for still hundreds of years. Only, there would be a lot of people that would lose a lot of money right away…pharmaceuticals, medical treatment facilities…Those I was afraid off. They are the ones that scared me. And they may be the ones that wanted the senator never to bring those biological samples to me.”
“That is finally making some sense…Just one more question for you...is this Netriour? Val asked as his pawn extended with a dark, leather-like material in it.
Chapter 15 The Loss
When a neurotoxin called Zixiz, the one made from a plant called Zixiliticuc from Larkk planet, brought Mikka down, it completely relaxed her muscles to the point of her being completely paralyzed. Her breathing was progressively slowing down until it halted almost all together, and she started to die.
But the venom could not penetrate her brain. Mikka, being of Aikura assassins, in her fourth year of training, had installed a venom suppresser inside her neck. So, not only did she not lose consciousness, but she also heard every word that Val and Timor said.
Particularly interesting to her was the part when Val mentioned her parents.
"Sad that she threw her life away like that...just like her father and mother." Those words still echoed in her mind as she was being transported by the police in a dark bag to a mortuary,
She knew she could not control her muscles, and whatever control she could muster was to keep her heart beating at least once every few minutes...so better just be still.
Electrical cuffs, the ones that were supposed to keep her hands and ankles tied together she could easily get off. But only if she could move.
That is why police found her. Two troupers showed up in her apartment, gun pointing, one carrying a tracker that clearly pointed her presence.
“It’s just a woman…and so skinny. How could she be so dangerous?”
She hoped that they would think she was dead, and send her to a morgue. She could get out of there without much trouble.
But they did a body scan, found her heart still beating.
“Do we send her to a hospital? She seems very weak.”
“No, no way! I do not want to mess with ECIs. She still has a heartbeat, and she was already sentenced by a FCI officer. You don’t want to mess around with them. We have to carry out the sentence. If she doesn’t make it, well, that will be on him, not us.”
“That seems harsh.”
“Well, if the ECI wanted her in the hospital, do you think he would not take her there? Just do your job, and shout up!”
“Anyway, who is she? She looks very pretty. What did she have to do to finish on his shit list?”
“She doesn’t have an id chip. The tracker she has on her was plugged in by ECI here… doesn’t mention names, just this number here...
“Put that into system, and that’s the way that we will document her. IF you want to know more, you can always go and question ECI who did this. Just tell me when you are going to do that so I don’t come with you.”
The other officer didn’t answer anything at last.
“We seal this place up, and call in the impound cruiser to take this whole apartment can out of this building…The ECI who did this wanted it all sealed as evidence, so don’t even touch a single thing…don’t even leave a finger print. You do not want to mess with the fucking ECIs.”
“And how about her?”
“Nothing to think about…It’s all been decided. Just throw her on a cruiser and send her to Pluk. That’s all we have to do, and that is exactly what we will do.”
“60 years? It says on the chip that she was sentenced for 60 damn years? She won’t make 60 days there.”
“Are you kidding me? She won’t make 60 hours! Don’t you know what they do to women over there? Poor little thing. It would be merciful if she never wakes us.”
“Fucking ECIs!?! What can you do?”
In that instant, Mikka understood that she lost everything…her apartment, all her trophies, tools of trade, her regeneration suite, all her possessions in it, stuff that was just priceless to her.
My bank accounts, they wouldn’t know how to get to them…they will not be able to find them. I hope they will not be able to find them. I hope…it is all gone. I have nothing now. Curse you, ECI Val, I will spit on your dead body.
She was beyond feeling mad, and her hunt for the blood just started.
She will make sure that before she kills Val he tells her everything, about the box, about her mother, her father, everything he knew. She will make sure he suffers, that he dies in agony.
Her retirement just got a long postponement.
Back in the Capital, in one of the offices overlooking the Emperor’s most amazing forest, two men nursed dark glasses filled with steaming herbal tea.
One had a white beard that gave his already skinny face another dimension. The other seemed to be half his age and almost a head taller.
“This situation is getting out of hand. I wished that Val could solve this by now. We have reports of the space traveling coming to a crawl.”
“That is only understandable, Minister. People are scared.” The tall man answered.
“We have to solve this case as fast as we can otherwise the trade will suffer, and the future of the empire depends on that trade, as you know…”
“I know. Prices of most of the goods have not been raising yet, but it is only a matter of time until they do.”
“How long do you think we have?”
“It is all about the perception of the people…Right now, it could be one or two months before the supplies start seriously to diminish. But that perception can change in the minute, and people may start hoarding supplies…that would be a problem.”
“Panic?”
“Yes. And after that starts, it can take but a month before we see first riots. Then the seed is planted. The ideas, the movement might take years to mature, but, it will inevitably happen if nothing is changed. You know this to be true.”
“Yes. We need to get answers as soon as we can.”
“Yes, but what can we do now? We cannot even locate ECI Val now. We could send another one in his place, but…”
“Maybe it was a bad idea to send him to do this job.”
“The emperor himself insisted.”
“Yes, yes I know…”
“Do we send someone else in his place?”
“That would be equal as saying to the emperor that he made a mistake. Do
you want to do that?”
They both got very quiet, contemplating different possibilities.
“No, we do nothing,” the bearded man continued. “Let the emperor himself decide when and what he wants to do. We are only to inform him of all that is happening, although somehow I think he knows that way better than we do. And we have about two to three months anyway before things start getting out of hand.”
“But what…what if ECI Val is dead?”
“Well…Then let the space have a mercy on us all.”
Chapter 16 The Trade
“No…” the doctor answered after a minute of carefully examining it, “…no, no, of course it is not. It is so stinky I thought for a second you gave me a piece of crap. I, actually, I do not have a slightest clue what that is.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, hundred percent…and if, like you said, it’s not in your database, it must be material that was erased from the database during the Revolution. There must be a good reason for it.”
“You are really not that much help, doctor. I could figure that one out all by myself on my worst day.”
“But I, I can help…” the doctor said as he saw disbelief in Val’’s eyes and his hand returning to a stunt gun handle on his hip.
“How?”
“I…I have a lab, a secret place where I keep records going back to the begging of time. I never let that be filtered by any doctrine. If this has ever been part of our galaxy, I should have its record there.”
“Keeping records of old…implicating yourself again doctor, aren’t you? That’s capital punishment, you know? And you know I have a right to enforce it, don’t you?”
“Of course I know what it means to be ECI, but imagine if I have not saved those…Imagine how could I have helped you then?”
“Good argument, doctor. Where exactly is your lab?”
