The Solarian Celebration: Book 3 of the Alliance Conflict (16 page)

He retraced his steps down the hallway and back to the waiting area.  Once there, he dropped the weapon bag in the waste slot.  He grabbed his communication pad and checked the time.  It read 10:29:30.  Frank left the waiting area and confidently walked to Senator Figur’s office. 

At precisely 10:30 am Frank rang the doorbell.  He then waited a moment; ostensibly for Figur to answer. 

Figur didn’t answer though – the primary reason being that he was lying on floor dead.

This time he knocked on the door. It swung open.  He said out load, “That’s odd, the door is unlocked.”  He paused for a moment and said, “Senator Figur, are you okay?”

Frank pulled a piece of dried, heavily peppered sea-moss out of his pocket and smelled it.  He took three deep breaths, letting the aroma waft through his senses.  Frank then walked into the room and discovered Figur’s body. 

He sniffled and said, “Computer, contact emergency services and inform them that Senator Figur is unresponsive and appears to be badly injured.”

…Please specify which emergency service…

Frank sniffled again.  When he spoke his voice was choked up.  He said, “Make it a general broadcast to all services.  I don’t know what service handles this type of thing on Solaria.”

Technically, there wasn’t a service that handled this particular issue since there hadn’t been a murder investigation in over a millennia. 

However, he requested a general broadcast because it should be detected by the media.  He wanted, correction he needed this to become a media circus. 

Frank intentionally downplayed the extent of Figur’s injuries.  He reasoned that if he simply stated Figur was dead that fewer people would come.  This way there would be some drama when the medical team rushed in.  Frank sat on the couch in the room and waited for the unscheduled party to start.

He didn’t have to wait long. 

The first responders only took 9 minutes to arrive.  They were a news crew from a nearby television station.  Frank wisely said, “Set up on both sides of the room for a panoramic view.  Leave the center aisle clear for the authorities.”

One reporter approached the body and was about to touch it.  Frank said, “Stop, don’t disturb the scene of the crime.  There may be clues for the investigation.”

Frank had paid handsomely for a weapon signature that appeared to be Hiriculan and he really didn’t want a reporter wiping the damning evidence away.

The reporter seemed to finally acknowledge who Frank was and asked, “Senator Frank, who killed him?”

Frank responded, “He was like this when I arrived for my meeting with him.  Let’s wait for the authorities to arrive. “

They didn’t have to wait long.

The first of two medical teams arrived 2 minutes later.  They were closely followed by local security force personnel and the security personnel were followed closely by the fire department.  Next a handful of (Solarian) Alliance naval officers arrived with beam weapons at the ready.

They were followed by the hotel manager and his immediate staff.  Frank was honestly surprised that it had taken the hotel employees that long to respond.  He thought they should have been the first to arrive.

The room was nearly full.  There was little room to maneuver now.  The only empty spot was directly around the body.  Everyone was just standing there and staring at Senator Figur.  The second medical crew arrived with an electro cart full of medical equipment.

Frank determined that he had a big enough crowd.  He double checked to ensure that the reporters were filming and said, “Everyone, clear a path; let the medical team perform a full body scan on my dear friend.”

The group parted as much as possible and the medical team approached.  They quickly connected a Model 345.12.12 diagnostic computer to the full body scanner and activated it.  The scanner was two generations behind the Model 345.22.14 diagnostic computer that Lorano had used on Earth, but it was very powerful nonetheless.

The entire room remained silent until the scan was completed.  One of the technicians interpreted the readouts.  Frank approached him and reviewed the results.  He then announced to the room that the Senator Figur was indeed dead and asked the non-essential personnel to leave.  The hotel staff, the security personnel, the Navy, both medical teams, and the reporters were allowed to remain.

Frank stood beside the most photogenic medical technician and confirmed that the cameras had a perfect angle of both the body and himself.  He waved the lead reporter forward and said, “Gentle beings, I am standing here beside Senator Figur’s body.  He was assassinated a few minutes ago.”

He paused for a moment to give everyone watching time to process the news.  He pointed to the Solarian beside him and continued, “Medical assistant Eva Ratbites furiously tried to save his life, but his injuries were too severe.”

The camera slowly panned to the right to show the body.   Frank bent down so that he was back in the camera frame and continued, “According to Eva’s analysis, Figur was intentionally shot and killed by a powerful particle beam weapon.  It was not a typical stun beam weapon.” 

Frank paused for effect and continued, “The analysis also showed that the shot was fired from a distance of 2.5 meters by a military grade Hiriculan beam weapon.”

He again allowed everyone a moment to process the information.  Then he stood and continued, “Beings.  This is sad news, especially in the midst of such a wonderful celebration.  Please do not panic or rush to judgement.  Let’s give the security officers ample time to complete their investigation.”

The lead reporter stepped up next to Frank and asked, “Senator Frank, what else do we know so far?”

Frank responded, “We know very little at this point.  It appears that Senator Figur was shot by a lone gunman at 10:28 am.  I had a meeting with him scheduled for 10:30 am.  I rang his communication pad at exactly 10:30 am and did not receive a response.  I knocked on the door and found it was open.  I then entered the room and found the body.”

The reporter said, “Did you see anyone exit the room?”

Frank responded, “No.  I didn’t see anyone.  The corridor was empty.”

The reporter asked, “Who is going to conduct the investigation?”

Frank answered, “The Solarian security force will conduct a full investigation.  Plus, I would like to announce that the Alliance Senate will create a special commission to assist in whatever way possible.  We need to understand who killed him and possibly more importantly, why he was killed.”

Frank ended the press conference and the police cleared everyone else out of the room.  Frank stayed a few more minutes and gave a full statement to police.  Frank gave his communication pad to the officer.  The officer verified that Frank had been sitting in the waiting room during the entire incident.

Frank summarized, “It is a shame that there are no pressure sensors, motion detectors, or cameras in the hallway.  That information really could have assisted the investigation.”

The lead security officer responded, “Yes, it’s almost like the killer chose this particular spot on purpose.”

Maybe he did, Frank thought.  Maybe he did.

The officer continued, “It’s also a shame that you waited in the waiting room instead of going directly to the door.  You could have seen the killer.”

Frank responded, “Well, if I had seen the killer, that being more than likely would have killed me as well.”

The officer nodded in approval.

Frank looked at the officer for a moment.  He was unsure whether the other being was nodding in approval that it was lucky he wasn’t early or that it was a shame that he wasn’t early.  He was about to ask for clarification when…

Another security officer said, “Maybe we should get the Humans in Conron to come and investigate the murder.  They probably have a multitude of experience with murder and would know exactly how perform a proper investigation.  We have zero experience.”

Frank felt a sudden wave of panic.  A human probably could solve this case.  Frank responded, “That is an excellent idea.  However, 6 days will have passed by the time you send the message and the Humans arrive here.”

Frank looked directly at the officer and gave his award winning smile.  He continued, “I need you two intelligent beings to solve the case now.  We can’t wait a week for outside help.”

Frank left the room and walked back down the hallway, toward the waiting room and the primary electro lift.  He saw something shiny lying on the floor.  He had just spent what seemed an eternity in the hallway a few minutes ago and he was certain that it wasn’t there earlier.

Frank supposed that someone must have dropped something during the commotion.  He took a step closer so that he was standing directly in front of an office door.  He bent down and looked at the mysterious object.  It was a label, written in Alliance basic.  He read aloud, “Do Not Push.” 

Frank looked up at the palm pad next to the door.  He then looked down at the label.  Frank surmised that the label must have fallen off at some point.  However, he didn’t recall seeing the label when he was in the corridor earlier. 

Frank reasoned that if the label was no longer present, then the directive not to push the palm pad was therefore invalid.  Without further thought or consideration, Frank placed his palm against the door and received an acknowledging beep. 

He didn’t bother to ascertain what was inside.  He simply listened to the door open as he walked the remaining few steps past the waiting room and to the end of the corridor.  Frank entered the electro lift and smiled.

It was fun being bad. 

“Where are you taking those?” the on-duty clerk at the Spaceport Hotel and Resort asked.

One of the two Solarians responded, “One of the foreign dignitaries hired us to pack his room and take it to the spaceport.”

“In the middle of the night?” the clerk questioned.

The same Solarian said, “Yes.  He has an early morning appointment and then wants to proceed directly to the spaceport.”

The clerk rounded the desk and said, “Sorry, hotel policy.  I have to check the trunks.”

“Certainly,” one of the men said.

The two men backed away from the electro cart and allowed the clerk to approach.  The clerk briefly inspected the outside of the two suitcases.  Each one was about 1.5 meters long and 0.6 meters wide (5 feet by 2 feet).  The suitcases were very well made and rather attractive pieces of luggage.  Further, they were clearly a matching set.

The clerk motioned for the men to open the trunks.  As they were doing so, the clerk whistled softly and said, “I think these things are worth more than me.”

Both of the men laughed politely.  Once open, the clerk verified that each trunk was completely empty.  The clerk then said, “Do you two know where you are going?”

“Yes,” one answered, “We know the room number and have the pass code.  Thank you for your diligence.”

They adroitly maneuvered the electro cart down the hallway.  They rounded the slight bend without issue and stopped in front of room 121.  The first scanned the hallway while the second verified the room number.

The first said, “This is the correct room.  Let’s grab the assistant first, then the scientist.”

The second pulled a room service override key out of his jumpsuit and placed it against the palm reader.  The door opened.  The first entered the room, saw an Advranki sleeping in bed, and stunned him with a beam weapon.

The second said, “Maybe you should have verified who he was before you shot him.”

The first replied, “And risk waking him and allowing him to raise an alarm.  I think it is better to shoot first and ask questions later.”

They pushed the electro cart into the room and gingerly lifted Carank out of bed and placed him in one of the oversized suitcases.  They grabbed a few changes of clothes and left the room.  The second used the service key to relock the door.

They pushed the cart a few steps to room 123.  Again the second used the key to unlock the door.  He walked in, quickly verified that there was a bald Altian was sleeping in the bed, and stunned the being with the beam weapon.  They loaded the unconscious body into the second suitcase.  Once again, they grabbed a few changes of clothing and exited the building.  The second used the service key to relock the door and the pair exited the hotel.

The clerk waved at them and said, “Have a pleasant evening.”

The second replied, “You too.  Enjoy the rest of the celebration.”

They left the hotel, pushed the electro cart past the Spaceport Hotel and Resort, and entered the Sol City Hotel.  The clerk of this hotel also stopped the duo as they entered the foyer.  This front desk clerk also asked them what they were doing.

The second answered, “We have a couple of full suitcases for one of the foreign dignitaries.  He just arrived and hired us to drop his bags in his room.”

The clerk responded, “Do you know his room number?”

The first responded, “Yes.  He gave us the access code and authorized our palm prints.  Thank you for your diligence.”

The clerk rounded the desk and said, “I am sorry, but it hotel policy that I have to inspect such large luggage since it isn’t being transported by a hotel guest.”

The second replied, “I fully understand.” 

Each one opened a suitcase.  The clerk briefly looked inside and saw a well packed row of clothing.  He waved the pair forward.

They entered the electro lift.  The second pulled a housekeeping override pass out of his jumpsuit and scanned it on the palm reader.  He pressed the button to take them to the 4
th
floor.  They rode up in silence.

Once there, the first entered the hallway and verified that it was empty.  That wasn’t surprising; this floor had been specifically chosen because it only contained executive offices and they didn’t expect anyone to be working at this late hour.  The pair pushed the electro cart past a nicely proportioned waiting area and to the room directly beside it. 

The second used the override pass to open the office door and they shoved the electro cart inside.  They opened the suitcases, set the clothing aside, lifted the two beings out of the suitcases, and gently set them into form-fitting office chairs. 

The first kept watch while the second removed the electro cart from the room.  They figured that it would be more dramatic if the two victims awoke with no idea where they were or how they got there.

Approximately an hour later Carank returned to consciousness.  He looked over and saw Clowy resting beside him.  He noted that there were two Solarians pointing beam weapons at him.  The second looked at Carank and said, “Wake Lorano up.”

Carank patted Clowy and said, “Lorano, wake up.”

Clowy finally moved and said, “What?”

Carank said, “Lorano, it appears that these two beings would like to talk with us.”

Clowy said, “What beings?”

Carank simply pointed.  Clowy followed his hand and saw the two Solarians.  She said, “Where are we, why are we here, who are you, and what do you want?”

Carank was impressed.  There was nothing he could add to that string of questions.  Further, she didn’t balk at being called Lorano.

The first said, “We invited you here because we want to know the route to Earth.  You will be free to leave once you tell us.”

Clowy said, “What route to Earth?”

The first said, “The one that you have memorized.  Please tell…”

The second one waved him to stop.  He looked at the first and said, “I think the Altian needs a little persuasion.”  He opened the box, pulled out an orange tube, and showed it to Clowy.  He said, “Do you know what this is?”

Clowy responded, “No.  Do you?”

The second smiled and replied, “It is ethyl butanoate.”  He smiled again.

Clowy responded, “If you already knew what it was, why did you ask me?”

The first replied, “Because we wanted to see if you knew what it was.”

Carank replied, “Lorano, ethyl butanoate is a very powerful drug; designed specifically for Altians.  It works by slowing the speed at which your body sends messages from your spinal cord to your brain.  As a result, it will be nearly impossible for you, or any Altian for that matter, to concentrate on a single task, such as walking or creative thinking.”

Carank finished, “And since it takes far more concentration to lie than to tell the truth, subjects are essentially forced to tell the truth.”  Carank turned toward their captors and said, “As an aside, that drug is illegal to possess and use.”

The second Solarian responded by inserting the vial into a gun type dispenser.  He motioned the first to stand next to Carank and said, “Advranki, if you move, you will get stunned again.  In other words, don’t move.”  He paused for a moment and added, “At all.”

He located the main artery in Clowy’s neck, set the dispenser against it, and pressed the trigger.  The vial emptied almost immediately as the liquid was shot into the main artery leading from her heart to her brain. 

The first said, “How long did they say it would take?”

The second replied, “Five minutes.”

They sat in uncomfortable silence and impatiently waited the suggested time.  When it had passed, the second stood and approached Clowy.  He said, “Now, talk.”

Clowy responded, “I can’t feel my toes and my nose feels funny.”

The first said, “Stop talking about your appendages.”

Clowy responded, “What appendages?”

The second responded, “Never mind.  Tell us the route to Earth.”

Predictably, she responded, “What route to Earth?”

Second said, “We know that you know a secret route to Earth, the home planet of the Humans.  Tell us the secret route now.”

Clowy: “No.”

The first said, “Why not.  You shouldn’t be able to resist telling us?”

Clowy: “I don’t know it.”

Second: “The Altian is still lying.  The drug isn’t working.”  He got up, put a second vial into the dispenser, and shot it in her neck.  They waited another 5 minutes and started again.

Second: “Now, tell us the route.”

Clowy: “What route?”

First: “To Earth.”

Clowy: “I don’t know it.”

The second frowned and stood up.  He said, “Wait, we should start with something easy.  Is your name Lorano?”

Clowy: “No.”

The second was clearly getting frustrated.  He paced around the room a few times and shouted, “Why isn’t this stuff working?”

Clowy asked, “What stuff?”

First: “The truth serum.”

Clowy: “I don’t know.”

The second turned to the first and said, “Are you sure you got the correct Altian?”

The first responded, “They said to grab the bald Altian sleeping in the bed.  You can clearly see that the Altian is bald and was sleeping in the bed.  You were there; this was the only Altian there.”

The second replied, “Then this being’s mind is even stronger than we thought.”  He turned back to Clowy and said, “One more time.  Have you ever been to Earth?”

Clowy responded, “No.”

Second threw his hands in the air and said, “Yes you have.”  He pointed in Carank’s general direction and said, “You and he went on a mission to Earth last year.  It is well documented.  There are even flashcube pictures of you wearing an ‘I heart Earth’ t-shirt.”

Clowy: “What photo-shirt?”

Carank figured the question was a combination between the t-shirt and the photograph.

Second was clearly getting frustrated.  He forced himself to calm down and started over again.  He said, “Okay, where did the Humans come from?”

Clowy: “Earth.”

“Of course Earth.  Where else would they come from?”  The second tried again, “Okay, how did you get the Humans from Earth to Conron?”

Carank was a little worried about this one.  Clowy actually knew the answer.  If she said Waylon they were in trouble.  However, Clowy responded, “On a ship.”

Second sighed loudly and said, “What ship?”

Clowy: “They were brought to Conron on the
Vista
.  The
Vista
is a mini-freighter.  By the way, my hands feel orange.”

The first said, “Finally, we are getting somewhere.”  He paused for a moment and asked, “What route did they take?”

Clowy: “They took a secret route.”

The second said, “Of course they took a secret route.  What is the secret route?”

Clowy was slightly rocking and shaking, as if her extremities no longer belonged to her.  When she spoke next, her words came out slowly and seemed slurred.  She was absently tearing from one eye.

She said, “Only the little blue people know the secret route.  The blue people programmed the navigation system.  No one else was allowed to look.  I asked bluey to tell me the route, but he refused.  Only the little blue people know the secret route.”

Clowy started swaying back and forth in the chair.  She started babbling incoherently in a mixture of Altian and Alliance basic.  The first looked at her and said, “The Altian is blanking out.”

Carank interrupted, “That is because you gave Lorano an overdose.  Two vials was way too much.  You won’t be able to question the being any further.”

The second thought for a moment and replied, “It doesn’t matter because we have our answer.”

He pulled the beam weapon out of his pocket and stunned both Carank and Clowy.  They carefully pulled them out of the chairs and gently laid them on separate couches.  They tucked a pillow under their heads and made them as comfortable as possible.

The pair exited the room and the second used the pass key to mark the room as ‘out of service’.  This designation locked the door and disabled the palm pad on the inside of the door.  The only way to open the door was to place one’s palm on the outside palm pad.

The first asked, “Why don’t we just let them go now?”

Second responded, “Our employer specifically ordered us to keep them here overnight in case we need to question them in the morning.  Let’s go.  We need to file our report.”

………..…………

Carank was startled by a noise and woke up fully alert.  He leapt off the couch and scanned the room for threats.  Nothing had changed, well inside the room anyway.  He looked out of the window and saw daylight.  Carank realized that several hours had passed.  They must have slept through the night after they were stunned.

Carank felt refreshed and energized.  He grudgingly admitted that he had just had one of his best nights of sleep in a long time.  He made a mental note that getting stunned was an excellent sleep aid.  However, he really didn’t recommend it.