Saar was modifying
Anderson's power converters when he showed to pick them up.
“Wait out side. I'll get 'em
for you.” Saar then plugs in the data chip and begins cracking. There are 8
files. All of various degrees of complexity, therefore various degrees of time
to crack. Saar goes to work on the easiest. Time stamped photos of a corporate
party in Kazawan City. The photos seem to focus on one individual in
particular. It will take a facial recognition app to try and figure out who he
is. Fifteen minutes tops. While the comp runs the program Saar looks up at the
wal-vid broadcasting the latest scream sheet.
“Gang violence breaks out at
the Synapsis club between off-duty Omni Security and the Binary Dogs. No information
yet on why these off-duty officers were at the club or why they engaged gang
members, but Omni Security has requested anyone with any information on the
whereabouts of Officer Jones [Picture] or Omni Contractor Hernandez [Picture] please
contact Omni Security immediately. They should be considered armed and
dangerous.”
A series of video camera footage just outside
the entrance of the club in the top floor of a high-rise is being looped
showing Jones and Hernandez entering the club with two other men. Quick head
shots of the deceased Binary Dogs are displayed, then the usual quick
reactionary crowd shots of the average Vanders citizen at the scene complaining
about police corruption, the drug-trade and the poor colonists stuck in the
middle trying to earn a living.
“What the frak?!” When Saar
left Jones and Hernandez they were heading to the Below Zero to collect the
cash Bargar Vas promised them for getting the water turned back on out at
Oh-Rif. What were they doing hours later at the Synapsis in a gunfight? And
where is Schmidt? Sergeant Schmidt ran the mission out at Oh-Rif. Last he knew
he had just got done debriefing the chief and collecting credits. Well it sure
as purple-acid-rain did not concern Saar at the time. “My fraking fingers
hurt.” He winced as he stabbed his deck for the readout.
Paulo Song, Omni Sun,
COO Omni Horron Research Facility, responsible for the agra-augmentation
program being conducted there.
“Hey Saar”, this was Mr.
Anderson punching his apartments com. “Someone is here to see you.”
“Tell him I'm not here.”
“Okay.”
Saar bends back over his
comp and begins an extraction program on the next most easily hacked piece of
data. Six hours. “Run it.”
“He says he can't really
leave until he sees you.” the apartment's com crackles again. Aw hell,
Saar punches the door access code. Anderson and Yang come back in with a well
dressed man. Obviously Kazawan City, not a colonist. Anderson introduces
him as his boy Hugo Rossi. Both Rossi and Saar look at each other trying to
figure out why in the hell either one them would be talking to each other.
Rossi trimmed out, good job obviously, standing in a pumped cube in the dome
talking to cut up, electrocuted, dying computer hack. Saar was concluding once
again he was shit at choosing friends.
“My employer, Mr. Down,
would like to talk to you if you wouldn't mind?”
“Can he patch me up?”
“I hope so, or I've taken a two-hour
tube ride for nothing.”
“Who's your boss?”
“Collace Down. His son just
returned from Xxcarvis. He is concerned about his son, the condition of his
return, and for some reason now he wants to talk to you. He also advises that
we try and leave the dome as soon as possible.”
“Down is big in the
professional circuit,” Anderson beams, “his son, Flare is probably the top
celebrity sports star on Skalvil. I've raced against him before, he's totally
cool.”
Saar accepts he will not be
having a quite night at home but says he can't leave until he makes a few
files. He wants forty minutes. Rossi doesn't see any problem with that and
shortly thereafter the group hits the concourse and grab a tube to Kazawan
City. Down lives in a plush high-rise and they are escorted into what can only
be the suite's lounge. Rossi fixes everyone drinks while a house attendant
treats Saar with stimpacks and NueSkin patches.
Heavy set with a face
sandpaper-washed from time spent outside the environmental domes of Skalvil.
Sharp dressed. Longtime local who made it good somehow.
"Thank you for
coming. I see you have met my mechanic Hugo Rossi. He has a lot to do with
keeping this family in the winner's circle and a truly capable hand. But
despite all my capabilities I have some current issues I am having some trouble
wrapping my head around and I believe you may be helpful. It is my
understanding you were recently out at Oh-Rif. Specifically, you were on the
ground dealing with the seizure of the facility by terrorists. Is that right?”
“Yes. Sergeant Schmidt, Omni
Security. He hired me along with some other of his contract help to go out and
see what the problem was.”
“What did you find?”
“What was reported. Some
unknown armed group had taken over the facility, disrupted the water flow.
Don't know why. Attracted a whole bunch of attention. How could it not. Angry
colonists were outside ready to force their way in if the water didn't get
turned back on. My group secured the facility, engaged the terrorists. We
killed some. Some got away. Looks like they killed the whole staff their too.
Didn't make much sense. Still doesn't. But it paid. Once we contacted Omni with
a sit-rep the salaried boys rolled in and told us to go home.”
Down drains his glass and
sits on the couch. Arms spread, his prodigious stomach sticking out form his
jacket. “My son got into trouble on an expedition on Xxcarvis. Championship
grav-skiing on those tremendous ice peaks. Film crew, the whole works. Going to
set a new frontier record no doubt. Now it is a four week journey one way so I
don't expect up to the minute briefings, but that I was almost able to keep up
daily with the expedition group. They would tight-beam their daily logs from
the range to the Omni-Sun drilling facility. There they would be loaded onto
the next transport out. There is enough regular commercial traffic out of
Xxcarvis that every other day I had footage. He must of got into some trouble
out their because the daily tight-beam stopped. I paid the Scouts to get out
there and look for them. The Baudy Beth I think it was. 200T free-trader, 2
jump capability. Four weeks out, four weeks back minimum. A crew of four.
They returned two weeks ahead of schedule with my son, the body of one of the
scouts and the sole survivor of the trek. I still have not got any information
on the whereabouts of the other two crew members.
“The official report is they
came across Flare in life-pod orbiting the gas giant at 0304. Still 2 parsecs
out from Xxcarvis. Word is he was never on Xxcarvis. No trace of his ship,
his crew. He is not okay. Something happened to him. The surviving scout
from the mission I have been unable to find out who or were he is. Probably
under lock and key at their base here in the city. I was able to find out the
body of the dead scout had been transferred to Oh-Rif. So I want to ask you
again: What did you find?”
Saar let the stimpacks take
him far away from his singed skin and lacerated torso. “They had some EMP
device. Detonated in the power room. Brought the whole facility down. No power,
no communication. They killed all the staff and took a body. They fled on boat
out into the Skalvil Sea. We found it beached on the north shore. Original
crew bound and executed. Most likely killed before the terrorists used the boat
to enter Oh-Rif. They fled into the wastes on a four-wheeled ATV. The frequent
acid-rain storms had quickly made their trail impossible to follow. Schmidt returned
to the Omni tower to debrief and collect pay. I came home to find, well all of
you.”
Saar looked at the rest of
the PC's. They all seemed happy with their drinks. “All I can say it didn't
make any sense.”
“I want to take a look at
that body. Do you think you can find it for me?”
“Sure, were do you think we
should look?”
“There isn't much north of
the Skalvil.” Downs picks up a remote from the table and turns on the his
holo-vid. A three dimensional image of the rain scarred wastes of Skalvil in brilliant
display. The Skalvil Sea was prominent then the display zoomed into the terrain
north. Three colonies were identified: Krunner
Farm, Harean Station and Horsail.
“Harean Station is a slug
farm, protein bases for you poor colonist’s food supplies out there on the
plains and you poor dome'ers living on subsidy. Krunner Farm
harvests Hellboria Wood. Very hard, very colorful when back lit and
very expensive. My bar top here is a nice specimen. Horsail is a fracking
operation. Anyone heading north via ATV's cannot get very far without living,
knowing or being supplied by one of these colonies. Someone is going to
know who they are and where they are. I suggest you start out immediately. Omni
knows as much as this too. If they are hot to track down the terrorists, they
will be heading there soon. But then again, now the facility is back up maybe
not so soon. Hugo here has tuned up the Trell III, a capable back
country air raft. Enclosed of course. He has agreed to accompany you all. As a
top mechanic you shouldn't have to worry about breakdown.”
