by Bob Blanton
Marc walked into a building that housed their manufacturing facility for the housing units. The units were constructed as a module, similar to the cabins that they’d brought down from the Sakira and that the Dutchman had brought. It showed them adding the appliances and fixtures that Liz had delivered from Paraxea.
“We build our habitats as modules,” Marc said. “It’s more efficient that way. Once they’re installed in the building, they’re expanded and customized based on the size of the family, but they all have this core of two rooms and a bathroom. We have quite a few colonists who are impatient to move into their own lodgings; they’re having to double up right now since they are the second group to arrive.
“As you can see, we have some nice appliances and fixtures that we manufacture. We would be happy to trade those with you once we catch up with our internal demand. Of course, we have the grain and raw platinum metal ores that we could trade as well. Maybe you can provide us with some idea of what you would have to offer in exchange.”
Marc then drove the jeep to the lake. “We made quite a bit of progress terraforming this planet. We’ve been able to increase atmospheric moisture substantially. We hope that by the end of the year, the climate will start to adapt, allowing for a greater range of vegetation, and eventually make the planet a little cooler and more to our taste.”
Marc ended the presentation at the airport where he had arranged for one of the spaceplanes to take off. “We just put in our new airport. We’re very proud of our new spaceplanes. They can even make orbit, which allows us to easily ferry supplies to and from our spaceship.
“Well, that’s all we have for now. Please let us know what you’re interested in trading. I look forward to meeting you. Until later.”
“Cut!” Samantha yelled.
“What do you think?” Marc asked.
“We’ll have to see. I wonder what our friend, the captain, will do to counter your Oryx.”
“What do you mean?”
“What will he show you or tell you so that you know his is bigger,” Samantha said with a snigger. “ADI and I will review and edit it. It should be ready for your final review by tomorrow.”
“Thank you, and thank you too, ADI.”
“You’re welcome, Captain,” ADI said.
◆ ◆ ◆
“Who are those people?” the alien captain yelled. He had just finished watching the reply from Marc. “How arrogant. What kind of fool does he think I am? His brother had a personal matter that required him to return to the homeworld. BAH!”
“Why else would they have changed governors?” the lieutenant asked.
“Who knows. Maybe they have elections. But a personal matter that is worth traveling two to three years to resolve; that is ridiculous.”
“What do you think of their spaceplane?”
“I don’t believe him. That thing cannot make orbit. He is just trying to intimidate us.”
“Even if it cannot make orbit, it is still impressive,” the lieutenant said.
“Have that footage analyzed. I want to know everything about it. Especially if it is doctored. I find it hard to believe they have that many colonists on that planet.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Hello, Governor McCormack. We are happy to see that you’re making such good progress on your colony. We see that there are some things that we can learn from you,” the alien captain started out. He was resplendent in his uniform and ribbons as he had been on his first reply.
“I can envision some trade between our two civilizations. I think you’ll find that we have much to offer. We have very advanced technologies we would be willing to trade. It is unusual to see different star systems trade among themselves since they’re usually separated by such vast distance. We are fortunate that our homeworld is a relatively short distance from, Zagawani, Artemis as you call it.
“Possibly we should create a mutual defense agreement between our civilizations. We have a strong military system and have developed many advances in space weaponry. Possibly the weapons systems would be of interest to you. We look forward to meeting you and sharing the stories of our homeworlds.”
Chapter 9
Murder Most Foul
“Good morning, Sam,” Marc said as he joined Samantha for breakfast.
“Good morning to you. Did you have a nice run?”
“Yes.”
“Are you going in to the office today?”
“No, I think I’ll take the day off. I don’t believe there are any problems that require my attention. ADI?” Marc prompted ADI to inform him if there were any issues he wasn’t aware of.
“Captain, there are no issues requiring your immediate attention,” ADI said.
“ADI, that sounds like there is an issue,” Marc said.
“I’m sorry to inform you, but there has been a murder in Delphi City,” ADI said.
“A murder?!” Marc asked.
“How can that be?” Samantha asked.
“Chief Nawal is investigating,” ADI said.
“Well, I’m sure she’ll let us know if there is any issue,” Marc said as he watched Samantha shudder.
◆ ◆ ◆
“Give me the details,” Chief Nawal requested as she arrived on the scene.
“Ma’am, the body was discovered at one twenty this morning,” Constable Gamon said. “He has been identified as William Markham. He came home and entered the building through the service entrance.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Saves him having to walk around the building. According to his Comm, he died at 1:05 a.m.”
“He was wearing his earwig?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I don’t suppose his Comm picked up who killed him?”
“No, ma’am, he had the video and audio recording turned off.”
“Interesting. What next?”
“He entered the building and was murdered almost immediately, maybe twenty seconds. The outside camera didn’t record anyone entering with him.”
“Did anyone leave the building after he was murdered?”
“Several people exited via the main entrance around one fifteen. They probably are second shift people heading out for the night after getting off from work.”
“Any record of people entering just before he did?”
“Several people entered via the main entrance between thirty minutes after midnight and one fifteen.”
“Okay, and just how was he murdered?” Chief Nawal asked.
“Carotid artery was sliced open. Lot of blood, but if the killer was behind him, they probably avoided it.”
“Did he struggle?”
“No sign of it. You can get a whiff of alcohol, if you can get past the blood. His Comm has him coming from a bar.”
Chief Nawal surveyed the scene. The body was in the hallway that paralleled the loading bay. “So the killer likely hid here inside the doorway to the loading dock. The victim walks by, the killer steps out of the doorway and what? Grabs him and then stabs him or did they just stab him as he walked by?”
“It could have happened either way. He obviously wasn’t very attentive.”
“Or he knew his killer,” Chief Nawal suggested.
“Might have, but this is an odd place to meet someone. There are lots of cameras in the loading area, just nothing in this hallway, so it wasn’t for privacy.”
“No alarms, so the killer either got in via their Comm, or they tailgated someone else entering the building.”
“Or they live here.”
“If only it were that easy.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Chief Nawal, can you provide any details on the murder last night?” Sophia asked. She had been lying in wait for the chief to come back to the station ever since she’d been notified of the killing.
“A body was found at one twenty this morning. We are withholding the name pending notification of next of kin. I cannot provide any more information since it is an ongoing case,” Chief Nawal said.
“Come on, even I know it was William Markham, he lives in the building where his body was discovered by one of the other residents!” Sophia shouted.
“I’m glad to see that the press is so well informed. But we have protocols to follow and one of them is we don’t go shouting the victim’s name until next of kin is notified.” Chief Nawal pushed her way past Sophia and into the police building.
◆ ◆ ◆
Chief Nawal went down to the coroner’s office to get the details on the autopsy.
“What can you tell me, doctor?”
“And hello to you as well,” Doctor Kramer said.
“Sorry, hello, how’s your day been?”
“Fine. You know this is the first autopsy I’ve had to do since those Russian Commandos. It’s been months since I’ve been down here myself.”
“I know how you feel. Our first murder. I hope it’s not an omen of things to come.”
“I’m sure it’s not. Okay, your victim was a healthy, well-nourished male in extremely good condition. He died of exsanguination due to a single knife wound in his throat. The weapon had a double-edged blade, approximately four inches long and two and a half inches wide. It was very sharp.”
“Anything you can tell me about the assailant?”
“Cold blooded bastard, right-handed. There are no hesitation marks, the blade went in and was immediately withdrawn with a backward pull, the pull was angled down. Due to the width of the blade, it severed the carotid artery and sliced open the trachea as well. There are no defensive wounds. There is a slight bruise on the victim’s forehead, consistent with hitting the floor or the wall.”
“That matches our findings,” Chief Nawal said. “We believe the victim was stabbed from behind, then pushed. He fell and hit his head against the wall. Between the blow and the knife wound, he was dazed enough that he just lay there until he bled out. Would the assailant have gotten blood on them?”
“Possibly; there certainly would have been arterial spray, but if they remained behind the victim, it is possible that they avoided the blood spatter.”
Chief Nawal frowned. “The knife was wiped clean on the victim’s shirt. All of the blood we found was in front of the area where we believe the victim was standing when stabbed. What about the assailant’s height, strength?”
“It wouldn’t have taken much strength. As to height, I would say at least 160 centimeters, five-three, probably not over 180 centimeters. Other than that, I can’t say.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Oh my God,” Catie exclaimed.
“What, Chérie?” Yvette asked.
“Someone was murdered last night.”
“Here in Delphi City?”
“Yes. I can’t believe it.”
“Do they know who did it?”
“It says the police aren’t saying anything.”
Catie messaged ADI, “ADI, what happened?”
“Chief Nawal is investigating,” ADI said. “I cannot say any more about an ongoing investigation.”
“What?”
“I have to follow the police protocol,” ADI said.
“So you cannot tell me anything? Are you helping to find the killer?”
“I am helping, and no you are not on the list of people I am authorized to share information with,” ADI replied.
“ADI, come on, it’s me.”
“I know, but there are rules,” ADI said. “I’ll inform you of any new information as it is released.”
“Thanks, but I bet I can count on Sophia to do more than that.”
“She is not bound by the same rules I am.”
“Alex, what else does it say?” Yvette asked.
“Not much. Where it happened, the victim was a male, stabbed just inside the service entrance to his condo building after midnight,” Catie read off the information listed in Sophia’s column.
“How could someone get away with murder here? There are cameras everywhere,” Yvette said.
“Apparently not everywhere. I’ll be very interested to learn how they pulled it off,” Catie said.
“As will the police.”
◆ ◆ ◆
Chief Nawal approached the podium to begin her official announcement to the press.
“It’s with great sadness that I announce that Delphi City had its first murder last night. The victim was found by another resident in his building. The victim was William Markham, the director of sales at Vancouver Integrated Circuits. His family has been notified. He was killed at one fifteen Sunday morning just inside the service entrance of his condo building. We believe this was not a random act, but a well-planned execution. We are continuing our investigation. Anything the public can tell us about the victim or his movements during the last week would be helpful.”
“Can you tell us how the victim was murdered?” Leslie Walters asked. Sophia was mad that the Chief had called on Leslie instead of her, just because Leslie was an internationally known reporter. Sophia was after all the resident Delphi reporter.
“He was stabbed in the neck from behind and bled out.”
“How could that have happened without being caught on camera?”
“The stabbing occurred inside the building’s service entrance. There is a camera watching the entrance, but there is not one inside the building in that location.”
“So you have no clues?”
“None that we’re willing to discuss with the press.”
“Do you think this was a paid hit?” another reporter asked after the Chief pointed to him.
“We are considering that possibility. We know of no reason for the victim to be targeted, but we have just begun our investigation.”
“I cannot believe that the chief ignored me,” Sophia thought. “She must be mad about me ambushing her outside police headquarters.”
Chapter 10
Board Meeting – March 7th
“I call this meeting to order,” Marc said. “I assume everyone has been following the murder investigation.”
“I have a hard time believing someone pulled off a murder in Delphi City,” Blake said.
“It’s hard, but not impossible,” Kal said. “Even the best security has holes in it.”
“Do we know who the perpetrator is yet?” Liz asked.
“No.”
“Do the police have any suspects?” Nikola asked.
“Lots of potential suspects, but nobody that really piques their interest. They’re still researching his life to see who would want him dead,” Marc said.
“This has many of our residents terrified,” Nikola added.
“The prime minister needs to reassure everyone that this is an unusual event,” Marc said. “It was a methodical, carefully planned murder, not some drive-by shooting or mugging gone wrong. It’s highly unlikely that anyone else will be targeted.”
“Easy for you to say,” Nikola said. “But how do we get the message out to our citizens?”
“Have Sophia interview the prime minister,” Catie suggested. “Then she can make all the points that Daddy just made. Everyone reads the Gazette.”
“What I wonder is what we’ll do once they catch the bastard,” Blake said.
“What do you mean? There will be a trial,” Samantha said.
“And if he’s convicted, what do we do with him?”
“Throw him in prison!”
“What prison?”
“Oh, I see what you mean,” Marc said rolling his eyes. The little things you miss when building a nation.
“We will just have to build one,” Blake said. “This is unlikely to be the only violent crime we’ll see in Delphi City.”
“Where? Do we make a separate quad to house the prison, floating off the city like the airport?” Marc asked.
“Why would we do that?” Kal asked.
“To prevent escape, to make people feel comfortable. Nobody wants to live next to a prison,” Marc said.
“I assume we’ll just build it on the airport,” Kal said. “Th
at’s isolated enough. And with the subdermal tracker, we really don’t have to worry about escape.”
“Those can be removed,” Blake said.
“Well maybe for violent criminals we need to place them deeper in the body, a location where it takes a doctor to remove them.”
“Wouldn’t that violate their rights?” Samantha asked.
“What rights? They’re convicted criminals. I think we can make a case that they’ve given up any right to privacy. Besides, it only tracks their movement, and alerts us if they try to disable it or remove it. I don’t see how you could argue against it.”
“Sure, that coupled with a Comm attached around their neck like a choker necklace should take care of any issues.”
“What’s the Comm for?”
“It records what’s going on in the area from the local cameras, records any conversation the prisoner is involved in, and it will also stun the prisoner if they become violent, or if a guard triggers it. Avoids having a prison riot,” Kal explained.
“Hard to have a prison riot with just one prisoner,” Catie said.
“Can’t they just take the comm off?”
“It’s attached with a band made of that flexible polysteel Dr. Zelbar came up with. They can’t cut it off and it’s too tight to slip over the head. Besides if it’s removed it sets off an alarm and activates the shock paralyzer.”
“Oh, nice.”
“Let’s move on to the business of this meeting,” Marc said. “I assume you’ve all reviewed the alien’s reply to our message.”
“Yes, it sure didn’t take him long to reply,” Blake said.
“That surprised me as well,” Marc said.
“I would also say that he’s inviting you to amass your forces at the point where he enters the system. Now why would he do that?” Admiral Michaels asked.
“That bothers me too,” Blake said. “I’d like to put it down to arrogance and stupidity, but I don’t think that’s what it is.”
“He looked angry,” Catie said.
“Yes he did, didn’t he,” Samantha agreed.
