by Sid Kar
“What is troubling you?” Yarwyk guessed from the creases on Antrar’s forehead that he had come to talk a serious matter.
“Lambda Man,” Antrar said.
Yarwyk was just about to raise his whiskey glass to his mouth when he stopped mid-air upon hearing those words, smacked down his glass on the table and turned to Antrar with wide eyes.
“I suspect what we feared with Lambda Man has happened,” Antrar said, “It might have gone rogue pursuing its own agenda.”
“That is why the Constellation was opposed to its creation in the first place,” Yarwyk said, “but we persuaded them to allow us to form this group by agreeing to their condition to report every action to the House of War.”
“But it is possible for it to operate independently and keep its decisions secrets,” Antrar leaned forward, “No?”
“What have you come across, Antrar?”
Antrar told him the cover up regarding the involvement of ‘The Silencer’ in the assassination attempt on Nestorian vice-chancellor.
“If ‘Silencer’ was involved it has to be Lambda Man,” Yarwyk said, “I can’t see any reason why our government would want VC Remus dead, indeed if I remember the news correctly many Constellars were asking why wasn’t he made the new chancellor by our starship commodore as he is more favorably inclined towards Starfire Empire.”
“Then you agree with my conclusion about Lambda Man?” Antrar asked.
“Maybe,” Yarwyk shook his head, “It was started to carry out operations on alien worlds where we couldn’t use our own soldiers for political reasons. We harnessed characters from the galactic underworld for these secret missions. The six members of the group are each a senior officer drawn from a different army department who collectively take decisions and approve missions and operators. However, there is a silent seventh member who is always an army commander from House of War who oversees all activities on their behalf.”
“But it can keep him and the House in dark,” Antrar said, “We were both members of it; hell you were the founder of Lambda Man and you recruited me. We controlled the funds, the weaponry, the spaceships, we contacted and hired from the underworld. We were honorable or honorable enough to report the missions and get prior permissions from House of War through the Commander, but we could have cut him out of the loop.”
“Yes I was the founder,” Yarwyk said, “It seemed a great idea then, I am not sure now. But it is Army Investigation’s responsibility to deal with internal crimes. Antrar, my dear friend, we did our duty in our time, both of us fought in the late war – you in space, me on land – I suggest you let this slide and enjoy your pension in peace.”
“Were that it was just corruption, I might have been content to file an anonymous report with army detectives, but,” Antrar stood up and looked over the horizon, “there is a lot more I haven’t told you, but will now.”
Antrar told him all the events of the ambush when he was abroad Conquistador and his conclusion that they were attacked by other Starfirian spaceships.
Yarwyk’s old hands slightly trembled as he heard the entire story. He calmed his nerves by sitting back straight and pushing back his hair with both of his hands.
“I…I…can’t imagine who would even…” Yarwyk stuttered as he spoke.
“I would hate to believe in such a theory too,” Antrar said, “but the mechanical evidence is incontrovertible.”
“But what do you want me to do?” Yarwyk recovered himself, “I was just one of many land commanders in the war. You are the decorated war hero; you should go to House of War with this.”
“I intend to, but first I need to know the identities of everyone who is currently on Lambda Man,” Antrar said.
“I retired from it even before you,” Yarwyk said.
“But you were the founder,” Antrar said, “That means you must know a way to reach it. Perhaps a master password in the original database? Perhaps identities of accounts and banks used for funds transfer? Anything?”
“Hmmm…” Yarwyk said, “I did set up all its operations so I do know some things, but can’t be sure how much of it is still in place.”
“But you will try…” Antrar looked at him earnestly.
“We are getting over our heads here,” Yarwyk said, “But for our army and our country, yes I will help you. What do you expect to get out of knowing these names?”
“I want to see how any of them might benefit or be in a rank and position to arrange an ambush on our own starship,” Antrar said.
“We will have to make discreet inquiries,” Yarwyk said.
“You will, I am headed to our capital Redfire,” Antrar said, “I know an army detective there. Actually, he was the chief detective under me for my starship and he has done quite well for himself since then. Last I heard he was only three or four ranks away from the top commander of Army Investigations Department.”
“When do we meet again?” Yarwyk asked.
“I will send you a signal,” Antrar said, “I will have a couple of vetted detectives with me and we can proceed further when we have those names.”
“Alright, good luck,” Yarwyk said.
Yarwyk escorted Antrar out of the home and to his airship. He wanted to invite him to stay over but realized the urgency of the matter. Antrar entered his airship and took off towards the spaceport and Yarwyk knew he had his work cut out for him.
Chapter 11: Autopsy
Roofus Bolfus looked out of his spaceship’s side window at the humongous starship he had left behind. It was hard to believe that he had avoided getting smashed into bits by this very ship not too long ago. Then it had sent him into a tailspin towards the ocean. But he had heard what Conquistador had done and why it had hidden out in the ocean and he admired the battle tactics of its officer class. He was also glad they could drain out all the chemicals from his body that had just flummoxed the Nestorian scientists. Roofus had been scared, he did not know what side effects the experiments were going to cause in him but now he felt fresh, fresher than even after a hot shower.
He did not remember the technique they used as they had made him unconscious. Apparently, they had sent thousands of micro-machines into his body to grab even a single molecule of any alien chemical lingering around. This was not something Nestorians could do yet.
He turned his head and looked out the opposite side window and saw Battleship Avenger departing from the orbit just then. Roofus wanted to be on there, to pay back the Mercurians. More than anyone else, Roofus had personally witnessed the Mercurian cruelty and callousness in using Nestorians as guinea pigs for their experiments and to what end, he didn’t know. But he wanted to be part of a team that would avenge their fellow citizens. He had been a fighter pilot in his days, a damn good one and he could don the attire and gear once more.
He saluted Avenger as he watched it take off into space and then disappear from his eyesight. General Bakus had assigned him a very important and secret mission. Bakus did not believe that late Republican Guard commander Nolfus was the sole leader of the attempted coup. As Bakus had put it, Nolfus neither had control over any battleship fleet nor any political power. He would have needed generals and senators to make his coup successful. Bakus wanted Roofus to find out who these were but this would be an unofficial mission.
Roofus turned his spaceship towards the base Starfirian soldiers had established on the outskirts of the city that housed the Senate. He wanted to get started on the work right away. He also wanted to avoid getting in Nestorian air traffic control’s database as he was going to be working in the shadows. Starfirians didn’t bother to comply with any Nestorian air or space traffic regulations and Nestorians couldn’t make them. That was arrogant of them but Roofus figured a spaceship traveling from Conquistador to strike soldier’s base would be identified as Starfirian one and ignored by air traffic controllers.
The strike soldiers assumed likewise too and he was able to land without any problem or question. But when he walked out of the spaceship, a
couple of soldiers who were on patrol walked over to him.
“Who is escorting you?” one soldier asked.
“No one,” Roofus replied.
“You are on a Starfirian base, you need permission,” the other soldier said.
“Excuse me, you are on Nestorian planet,” Roofus said.
The two soldiers looked at each other and grinned.
“Alright, what is your business here?” the soldier asked.
“I am here to see Colonel Jarvyk,” Roofus replied, “I come straight from meeting Com. Raptor.”
“Follow us, we will escort you,” the soldiers said.
They walked on either side of him with their laser guns in their hands but pointed outward and they walked to a tall, metallic, cylindrical building that Starfirians had constructed in the center of the base. The soldiers accompanying him conversed with the soldiers in front of the large door and a couple minutes later he was inside. The insides were sparse and metallic with black shoes of the soldiers matching the shiny black floor and walls. The soldiers led him to an elevator and to the top floor where he was standing in front of Col. Jarvyk’s desk a couple minutes later.
“I just received the orders from Commodore Raptor to let you have a copy of the report on Republican Guard commander’s autopsy,” Col. Jarvyk said as he got up and grabbed a folder in his hand, “Follow me, I will explain to you in the morgue.”
“You have a morgue here?” Roofus asked surprised.
“Just a large room,” Jarvyk smiled wryly and walked down the hallway. Roofus followed him. They took stairs a couple of floors down and Jarvyk slid his card to open a door to a large, rectangular room, painted metallic black like the rest of the building, with cold storage lockers for dead bodies. He entered his code to open a locker and pulled out the floating board that held Nolfus’ body. He lowered the board till it was hovering in the air just above their waist. Jarvyk handed him the folder and Roofus started flipping through the pages – he was going to read the details once he had left this base.
“How did he die?” Roofus asked.
“Shot by a laser pistol, Nestorian Gormus 0.88 to be specific,” Jarvyk said.
“A Nestorian laser pistol?” Roofus almost jumped, “I thought your soldiers shot him.”
“No,” Jarvyk replied.
“But colonel, that is not possible,” Roofus said.
“See here,” Jarvyk pointed to the penetrating wound on Nolfus’ chest, “Our machines analyzed the residual heat and the wound shape, estimated the energy released and the structure of the laser fired and matched it to all known weapons in our database. This was no Starfirian laser gun wound; it was Nestorian, Gormus 0.88 as mentioned earlier. Do you want technical details of laser energy analysis?”
“No,” Roofus said, “that would go over my head. But perhaps one of your soldiers picked up this laser pistol from a fallen republican guard during the street battle?”
Colonel Jarvyk laughed, “Look at the wound again,” he pointed to the open hole in Nolfus’ body, “a straight shot to the heart. Someone who knows Nestorian biology. Our hearts are in the center of our chest, yours are much further to the left and near the bottom of your chests. Strange species you are,” Jarvyk chuckled a bit.
“And?” Roofus intoned.
“Look,” Jarvyk said with a serious face this time, “I personally instructed my soldiers to take head shots against Nestorians because they don’t know where your vital points are. But every specie is vulnerable in the head. These are elite marksmen they would not accidently hit the heart when aiming for the head. Besides,” Jarvyk folded his hands across his chest, “When strike soldiers stormed the makeshift headquarters set up by republican guard, they quickly surrendered and Nolfus’ body was found on the street, already dead. No guardsman could say how it happened.”
Roofus grasped his head with both of his hands, “Gen. Bakus’ suspicion was right. He had collaborators who offed him when the coup appeared to have failed.”
“That is the conclusion I put in the report you are holding,” Jarvyk said.
“Colonel, why didn’t you tell us? Why aren’t you investigating?” Roofus blurted out.
“Are you joking?” Jarvyk said, “Your government hasn’t requested this report, but then again given the utter chaos in the aftermath of the coup and the Mercurian attack and the new government taking power, I wouldn’t be surprised if they never get around to it. And as far us investigating,” Jarvyk guffawed, “we already caught a lot of flak from some of your senators and peoples about picking your next chancellor. We don’t interfere in the internal affairs of protectorates and that is a big reason why a lot of small and medium spacefaring nations become our protectorates. You can’t expect my soldiers and detectives to go around asking questions and roughing up suspects. It’s your coup, you deal with it.”
“Colonel, then I must take your leave,” Roofus said and Jarvyk shoved the dead body back into the cold storage. He walked with Roofus to the elevator and left him there. Roofus rushed to his spaceship and started reading the report hurriedly to satiate his curiosity while he entered the coordinates for a parking space near the Senate building.
Roofus barged into the personal office of Vice-Chancellor Remus Torus in the Senate way earlier than his meeting had been scheduled. Remus raised a brow when he looked at the clock. He put aside the papers he was working on and pushed away the mobile display he was watching. Gen. Bakus had set up a meeting between the two of them before he had left.
“That folder contains some revelations about the coup?” Remus pointed with his pen to the folder Roofus was holding.
“How did you know?” Roofus asked and took a seat in front of Remus’ table.
“We weren’t due to meet for forty minutes and you are a disciplined person, given your background and the work you do,” Remus smiled, “Something has gotten you excited and you want to share with me.”
“Nolfus had partners in crime,” Roofus smacked the folder on the table. Then he proceeded to tell him about his meeting with Col. Jarvyk of Strike Soldiers.
“I am not surprised,” Remus said picking up the folder and skimming through it, “I will read it later at leisure.”
“You knew?”
“No I suspected,” Remus said.
“What about Chancellor Solus?” Roofus asked.
“He suspects Gen. Bakus of being the mastermind,” Remus said.
“That’s crazy,” Roofus said, “Bakus asked me to investigate.”
“Because he knows that when Solus appoints an investigation he is going to all but set them upon Bakus, trying to dig dirt upon him,” Remus said, “Solus has always barked,” he stopped himself and laughed, “our great chancellor has always proclaimed that the officers were planning to usurp the Republic. He will ride this to the high hills for all the gold.”
“We have to find the real culprits,” Roofus said and Remus nodded his head.
“The coup attempt and the assassination attempt on myself are somehow connected,” Remus said, “That is why it can’t be Nolfus alone. What would he have gained by removing me?”
“You were next in line,” Roofus said.
“And third in line is the Interior Minister,” Remus leaned forward and whispered, “Republican Guards are interior ministry’s charge.”
“You suspect Minister Lemon Bree?” Roofus asked. Now he himself started wondering that.
“Can’t say,” Remus leaned back in his chair, “But that’s why I can’t go to Commander Krotus. I trust his loyalty and he risked his life in the fight against the coup. But the interior ministry would know every detail of his investigation.”
“That’s why you and Bakus want me to play detective,” Roofus said.
“You have always played spy, now you play the other side of it,” Remus said, “By the way, Republican Guard may be disbanded.”
“What?” Roofus jumped up from the chair and stood up.
“Solus introduced a bill to abolish them sa
ying they were ‘an elitist institution infected with contempt for commons’, his words,” Remus said, “Me and Lemon managed to stop the bill. But Solus will turn the senators he needs. He is handing out sops from the treasury to every other planet, buying their senator’s support.”
“In a time of war?” Roofus said.
“He says the wealthy will pay for this war, not the peoples,” Remus said.
“I see,” Roofus said, “But where do we begin our inquiry?”
“Now listen carefully,” Remus said, “I had tasked Jag Manus, the capitan of my personal guards to find answers about the hit put on me. He was killed while he was en route to Nestor with information. But in the message that he had managed to send he had mentioned a man named Aurus Janus, an employee of Boutrous Golus Company on planet Nectar, and an associate of Nolfus who was headed to Nestor or already here.”
“Are you sure he is still on Nestor?” Roofus asked, “He would have run into deep space after the coup failed.”
“No, he wouldn’t have run,” Remus said, “Presumably he expected to be reward by the coup leaders. The Republican Guard had seized space traffic control and prohibited all traffic from leaving Nestor. When Starfirians showed up, they enforced a similar ban, and then Gen. Bakus suspended all civilian traffic during the battle. No civilian spaceship has left Nestor since then without being examined and registered. I have access to all the databases of spaceships arrivals and departures and Aurus’ name was nowhere on the departure lists.”
“He is still here then, hiding out somewhere like a rat,” Roofus said.
Remus laughed, “Yes he is, and if you find him, he will lead us right to Nolfus’ associates.”
“Do you have any photos etc.?”
“Yes,” Remus handed Roofus a metallic disk, “All the data on Aurus in government databases is on this including his photos.”
“I will find him,” Roofus said.
He left VC Remus’ office and exited the Senate building thereafter. Finding one man on a planet of three billion people was a job for an entire police department. Nevertheless, he wasn’t distraught, because during the course of his spy work he had acquired many useful tricks for searching hidden individuals and objects. First, he had to learn more about the coup itself for any missed clues.
