Chapter 3
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An argument could be heard coming from the hallway outside Sam’s. The three of us walked to the door just in time to see a woman squabbling with a station guard. After a heated exchange, she pulled a blaster and fired a bolt into his midsection. The neatly pressed uniform of the guard exploded outward as we ducked back through the doorway.
Ogu said, “Wow. The crazies have finally reached SS5. I come across a blaster in my salvage every once in a while, but that's the first one I have seen in the populace for a good eight or ten years.”
I moved back to the door in time to see the Igari woman rallying a dozen friends to her aid. All were equipped with blasters of their own.
As Ogu came up and squatted behind me, I held up my hand. “Stay put. I think this fight is only getting started. This hall will be crawling with guards in about three minutes. If they see us peeking out from here, we'll be dragged in for questioning when the fight is over.”
I looked out at the Igari guard, whose remains now lay scattered about the hallway floor. SS5 was Igari space, with fully 90 percent of its inhabitants being of the same species. The Igari were a meter and a half tall, with medium gray skin and hairless heads. Their normal facial expression was what others would consider a scowl. The Igari I knew had always been friendly and law abiding. What we had just witnessed told me that for some... their demeanor had changed.
When several minutes had passed, just as I had predicted, the security forces of the station began to arrive. The initial five turned into fifteen and then twenty. I poked my head out just enough to get a good look down the hall where the woman had gone. From my position, I could see several Igari hiding in wait for the guards to come their way.
As the security team organized and began to move toward our position, I pushed back inside the doorway. Betty and Ogu hurried back over to the bar, taking up stances that implied they were not interested in whatever was going on out in the hall.
I stood in the middle of the bar in indecision. This was not my fight, but I was an officer of the security force, and I was armed.
As I raised my hand up to my blaster, Ogu said, “Stay out of the fight, Knog. This is an Igari problem.”
I looked over my shoulder. “I'm sworn to uphold the law. Too often we just sit by and let things happen when it’s our duty to assist.”
As I began to turn toward the door, an Igari guard stepped out in front of me. “Freeze! Move your hand away from that weapon!”
I began to explain. “I’m a detective. I'm on your—”
An ion bolt from a blaster ripped into his back, blowing the right side of his rib cage and his right arm from his body. The newly dead guard dropped to the floor.
The hallway erupted in blaster fire from both directions. I gathered Ogu, and we moved to behind the bar beside Betty. Two Igari guards fell in front of the doorway as the fierce battle ramped up. For several seconds, the blaster fire then went strangely silent as those involved repositioned.
Whumps and pops started again, this time coming from the direction of the guards. I moved out from the bar and again poked my head just far enough from the doorway to see down the hall. The remaining guards were being pushed back in our direction.
Ogu was again crouched just behind me. “What’s happening?”
“The guards are getting their asses kicked is what’s happening. Their team captain doesn’t know what he's doing.”
As I leaned out, struggling to see the action without fully exposing myself, I felt the cold tip of a blaster against the back of my neck.
A woman’s voice said, “Stand up slowly and give me your weapon. You make a move, even a twitch that I don’t like, and I'll open you up with a twenty-megajoule, life-ending jolt.”
As I stood and turned to face her, the woman looked over at Betty. “You try anything from over there, Human, and it will be the last thing you do.”
Betty raised her hands where they could be seen.
With a gruff voice, the Igari woman said, “What are you Gruntas doing here?”
I replied, “I was just having lunch with friends. What’s happening out there?”
A second Igari took the blaster from my hand as the woman continued, “What’s happening is not your business, Grunta.”
She looked at the three stars on my shoulder patch and gestured. “My uncle was a three star back in the AMP. I know you must have earned those at about the same time, which tells me you're probably a decent person. He will be here in a moment. I'll let him decide what to do with you.”
The fighting just down the hall from Sam’s came to an end when the last two guards surrendered their weapons. It was an action that was punishable by death in the New Alliance. For the guards, it would mean the chance of living for at least a short while longer.
An older Igari turned the corner into the restaurant. “Shieka, I told you to stay back! You are too valuable to the movement to lose.”
The Igari looked at the stars on my shoulder. “On my station we only had two detectives with three stars. That was before the New Alliance thugs took over SS6. Out of respect for you, I'm giving you a choice. Join us here today, renounce the New Alliance, or I'll blow a hole in you the size of that bar stool over there.”
I replied, “There are three here who've achieved the rank you and I have. Two served their time with honor, while one has advanced through political means. Would my renouncement here make a difference?”
The Igari placed the tip of his blaster against my chest. “How'd you know I was once a three star?”
I smiled, as much as a Grunta could smile. “Your niece mentioned it only moments ago. I don't believe you are leaving me with any choice, so, squeeze the trigger or let me go.”
The old Igari smiled. “Guts. I like it when a detective has the guts to say what he means.”
The blaster fire picked up again down the hall.
Another Igari poked his head in the doorway. “Karna, they have heavy rifles and shields. We're starting to lose people.”
The Igari woman looked at her uncle and then back at the other Igari. “Withdraw!”
The old Igari poked the tip of his blaster against my chest. “The time is coming where you will have to choose sides, Detective. Think hard about where you stand.”
The Igaris turned and scampered down the hall as the rest of their fighters disengaged from the melee and fled. The hallway, along with Security Sam’s restaurant, was soon filled with SS5 security forces.
Twenty minutes later, Paq Wendell was standing in front of me. “You had a weapon; why weren’t you in the fight?”
Ogu stepped up behind me. “They stormed us and confiscated his weapon before he could draw.”
Paq looked at Ogu with suspicion before looking me in the face. “Is that true, Knog?”
“I was reaching for my blaster when they entered.”
Paq looked back at the door and then back my way. “I’m supposed to believe that an Igari outdrew you?”
Ogu began to speak again. “He—”
I held out my hand for him to stop. “Captain, they entered with weapons raised. The Alliance needs experienced detectives, not dead ones. If we're finished here, I would like to get on with my lunch, as I have yet to eat.”
Paq squinted his eyes and looked away. The officers of the station security force had once been close partners with those of the inspection detectives. In recent years, the trust and brotherhood that had previously joined the two had been broken by the new politics of the Alliance. Each side seemed eager to belittle or turn on the other should the occasion arise. The captain, secure in my story, left before causing questions to be asked of his own actions.
When the commotion had fully ended, a single guard stood in the hallway as a coroner’s crew cleaned up the remains of the fallen security force members. Twenty had perished in the fight. The single Igari citizen who had died as a result of a battle wound had been dragged away by his own. After t
horough questioning by a guard force inspector, I was released and sat down for a meal.
Ogu said, “I’ve seen the news of riots on a few of the planets. That's the first discord, other than talk, I've witnessed on this station. And, that was far more than a riot. That was a planned assault.”
Betty nodded. “I’ve heard a few grumblings of late, but nothing that would rise to the level of that. The old Igari sounded like he’s planning a revolution.”
“The people are unhappy,” I said. “The government can only take so much from their families before they do just what we saw out there. The way things are going, I would expect to see more of this.
“I was just told to not take any ships under my inspection that were flying under the Salton family flag. That smacks of corruption. If we're seeing this kind of lawlessness here, imagine what it's like out in the far sectors.”
Our discussion about the state of the Alliance went on for several hours. After settling up my tab and saying goodbye to my friends, I headed back to the Daunte. I would spend the remainder of my time-off on the ship alone.
A planned visit to see my wife and children, who were living on the planet Balimus II, not far from Beta Campus, had not been authorized. I would not be seeing them again for four months... when my current shift would come to an end.
As I approached my ship, I sent the code to open the hatch. A ramp-way dropped underneath and I climbed the eight steps up into the ship’s hold. I turned and looked back down at the deck as a whiff of animal smell entered my nostrils. Most Gruntas had an excellent sense of smell, and I was no exception.
When I turned back, I was facing a 130-pound drooling beast. It was staring at me with an intent that was not friendly. It was a Human dog called a Rottweiler. Humans loved their pets, and the fact that a Rottweiler was standing in front of me told me there was a Human somewhere nearby. I took another sniff and detected just a hint of a perfume.
“Who’s there? This is a government ship.”
A short, thin, brunette Human stepped out from the cockpit. “You must be Knog. Sorry for the intrusion, but I got tired of waiting to be introduced. I was supposed to meet you here tomorrow. I’m Jonias Salton, by the way. And this is my friend Raptor. He’s as friendly as they come once he trusts you.”
The fresh graduate stepped forward and held out her hand for a shake. “I hope this doesn’t get us off on the wrong foot. The Chief said you were a stickler for protocol. You were also their highest-ranking and longest-serving inspector; that’s why my father chose you.
“He wanted his daughter to be safe. I suppose it will be in my favor to learn from the best, but I’m sure they're going to give us nothing but cream-puff assignments. I just wish they would let me have a little independence, that’s all.”
Jonias’s tiny hand was swallowed up in my big Grunta palm. “Jonias, you really shouldn’t board ships without asking first. I wasn’t prepared for guests.”
Jonias looked around. “Wasn’t prepared? This place is immaculate. I’ve been on ships with a complete household staff that weren’t as clean as this. Oh, and call me Joni. My father named me Jonias because he wanted a boy.”
Joni walked over and opened a door. “Is this my room? I noticed it was kind of sparse, which is fine; I’ll have it cluttered up with my junk in no time.”
“Those are my quarters, and I would ask that you not invade my space further. The far door is yours.”
Joni turned back with a sheepish smile. “That one? The big room? I would have thought you'd be in there; even the bunk is bigger.”
I stepped forward and closed the door to my room. “I prefer this one. It’s closer to the holding cell, where I can better watch over anyone I have taken into custody.”
Joni gave an odd look. “You're taller than the bed is long in there. How is it you can sleep?”
“The personal sleeping habits of a Grunta are just that, personal. Now, if you would like to take possession of your room, please feel free to do so. I have work to do in the cockpit.”
As I turned back, the Rottweiler named Raptor was standing in my way.
“Oh, you have to pet him. He requires a petting toll from anyone who wants to pass. No pet, no pass.”
I leaned down and exposed my teeth with a growl. Most animals, and beings, would turn and flee at the sight of an unhappy Grunta. The Human dog stood firm, offering up a growl of its own.
Joni laughed. “Really, he won’t move unless you pet him. And your little show right there—if he didn’t like you, he would have been all over you like a raw borak steak. Just pay his fee and he'll move.”
I reached down, placing the dog’s head in the palm of my hand. I grudgingly spun my wrist from side to side and was soon rewarded as the fierce dog rolled slowly over onto his back with his feet up in the air, exposing his soft underbelly.
Joni said, “Wow, I’ve only seen him do that for my father. You must have a touch with animals.”
I shook my head. “Gruntas and animals generally don’t mix. We don’t have pets, because most don’t care for our pheromones.”
I reached down further and gently scratched his belly. The dog turned his head away in a submissive gesture.
Joni laughed. “You better watch it, or he's gonna be humping your leg.”
I straightened and proceeded to the cockpit, sitting in the plush pilot’s chair in front of the holo-displays. I pulled up the coming schedule to see only a blank screen.
Joni was standing over me. “That’s what I was just checking when you came aboard. I was hoping we could get an early start on an inspection.”