“One other thing that I would like you to look into Mr Strom, could your security team have made a sloppy job of quarantining the Galileo, could someone have slipped past them before the ship was fumigated?” Poulson asked politely.
It said a lot for Francis Strom that he did not faint when he heard Poulson ask the one question that had been causing his stomach so much discomfort. “They are a good team, although of course we have never had to quarantine a vessel before, but we have conducted tests to keep them on their toes. However, Constable, I will speak to them about it, and I will let you know the answer as soon as I have spoken to everyone who was on the team that day.”
“Oh and one more thing, check to see if two of your men did indeed follow Kramer and his crew through the body scanner room.” Poulson asked.
With this arranged Poulson now returned to the police station, where he had his second cup of coffee of the day. It was early in the afternoon, the sun was high in the sky and scorching all beneath it, and it was now that the bodies of the two colonists of New Caledonia were found dead within their home. Poulson went to the crime scene to look for clues, and it was there that he met up with Doctor Kamdar who gave him more bad news.
“It is the work of the alien creatures Dan, each victim has a hole in one of their eyes and also two fang marks on their neck. I will carry out the autopsy as soon as I return to the morgue with the two bodies, however, I expect to find the same evidence as on the previous bodies. I will call you and let you know for sure.” Doctor Kamdar said as he climbed into his vehicle and followed after the ambulance that was even now taking the bodies to the morgue.
Constable Poulson scowled as he looked after the departing ambulance, now even the coroner was referring to the murders as alien creatures. Feeling very down he returned to the police station, he had just sat down at his desk to go over all of the reports when his door was thrust open and Councilman Balsam stormed in. He had just heard of the latest deaths and had stormed round to the police station, his anger getting the better of him.
“Two of our people killed and what have you been doing to find their murderers, Constable, absolutely nothing. Swanning around at the spaceport that is how you have spent your morning, you are certainly not doing anything to protect the citizens of New Caledonia while they sleep in their beds.” Balsam bellowed out angrily.
Poulson looked up from the three photographs on his computer, they showed the bodies of the two dead citizens, the damage to their eyes telling everyone who saw them just who was responsible for killing them. He understood the councilman`s anger, he too was angry with his lack of success, even so striking out blindly was not the answer.
“Mr Balsam, I have been doing much more than swanning around the spaceport, as you put it. I now believe that I know how Kramer or Alejandra got rid of the evidence that we have been searching for.” Poulson replied in answer to the councilman`s accusation, and he told him of the idea that had come to him during the morning, and of the other things that had been found during the morning, including the two mysterious beings that had walked through the scanning room, and of the interference shown on the CCTV picture.
“Ok, Constable, I take back what I said, however, after what you have told me about the body scanner, I demand that you have Captain Kramer arrested for bringing two dangerous creatures to New Caledonia, knowing them to be invisible, it is gross negligence on his part. He has endangered all of the people on New Caledonia by this cowardly action, all he wanted to do was to save his own rotten skin.” Balsam demanded belligerently. Balsam had the power to call for the imprisonment of anyone on the planet, assuming he had some evidence to back up his words. In this particular case the laws that govern the illegal importation of alien wild life allowed him to do just that.
“Are you sure you want this councillor, we have still not found any tangible proof of the creature`s existence, Kramer could sue us for false arrest.”
“I thought that you just told me that two alien creatures came through the body scanner after Kramer and the others walked through, and that these creatures affected the CCTV camera in that room?” Balsam said angrily, his voice carrying through to the other offices within the station.
“I do not believe in invisible alien creatures Councilman, but I have been using the time since the last two murders to think about the evidence that we have accumulated. Following my work this morning I now believe that the murderers are using a top of the range jamming device which not only affected our camera in the body scanning room but caused it to short circuit. As for the two humanoids seen coming past the body scanner, they could have been you and me, the scanner is not set up to give the sort of information that Kramer would like us to believe. So you see it is all a smokescreen, and one that I intend to blow away. I will admit one thing that is still eluding me, who came through the body scanning room after Kramer and the others. There can only be two realistic answers, either they were two of Strom`s team or, they are two more of the crew of the Galileo, and they lived through the voyage. The second option is the one that I think we will find to be the correct one Mr Balsam.” Poulson said quietly. Balsam was silenced by this revelation and here Poulson let the matter drop and instead raised another matter.
“As regards Maria Alejandra, is she now allowed to go free?” Poulson asked politely although all he wanted to do was to kick the councillor out of his office and damn the consequences.
“No, of course you may not release her Constable, although Professor Alejandra has not committed any breach of the space laws, from what you have just told me it seems probable that she was involved in the murders, so she too can enjoy our hospitality for a little longer.” Balsam said angrily. He had felt a little deflated by what Poulson had told him. Yes a jamming device would explain the interference on the CCTV cameras, and it certainly did make more sense than invisible creatures. As did Poulson`s thoughts concerning who had come through the body scanning room, two of the crew of the Galileo, both of whom were obviously working with Kramer and Alejandra.
Thankfully due to the insane question posed by Poulson he would be able to leave on a high, which is exactly what Constable Poulson had wanted, a blustering politician rather than a deflated one who would try to even the score.
“Ok Constable, I will accept your explanations, but I give you fair warning, unless you begin getting results I will insist that the investigation is handed back to Francis Strom, he at least is willing to consider things previously unknown to us.” Balsam said going back on the offensive, and with that he left the police station and went off to find some one else to bother, leaving Poulson to think about what had been said.
He had only just thought about the use of a portable jamming device, but it did make more sense than an invisible alien, thankfully the blistering attack by Balsam had finally made his mind work. However if this theory was correct then he must be right in thinking that two more of the crew of the Galileo were in fact alive, and that Kramer and Alejandra must both be in on the deception. But why, could it be that they have found something on the planet, something worth all the murders and lies? Yes, he would hold onto Professor Alejandra and Captain Kramer, a few more days in the isolation cells should not do them any harm. His theory would also explain the final six deaths, the two aboard the Galileo was to get rid of two witnesses and allow Kramer to alter the two ship`s logs, the two in the security section of the spaceport was to cut down the number of people who would benefit from the discovery, whatever it was. The two locals were obviously killed by the two men who came through the body scanner unnoticed, their deaths were to make it seem as if an invisible alien really existed. It also explained how the weapons and toxin were brought into the security wing of the spaceport, and how they were disposed of, the two crew members were responsible for both actions. He was now sure that Lydia Mann was mixed up in it all, she had opened all of the doors within the cell block allowing Kramer, or the two later arrivals, to commit the two murders. An old memory now popped back i
nto his mind, of course, Lydia knew Milano, they had a fling for quite a while, well maybe he contacted her via the survey ship`s radio and arranged it. When she was offered a better deal by Kramer she went along with it.
Constable Poulson printed out a number of photographs showing the crew of the Galileo, he now walked back to the council offices, updated Francis Strom regarding his latest theory, and asked him to give a copy of the photographs to each of his search teams.
“Of course Constable, I will be delighted to be of assistance. Oh, by the way, I checked with my people back at the spaceport, none of them went through the scanning room, it seems they are afraid that the radiation from the machine will harm them, so they give the room a wide birth.”
A very relieved Strom had the photographs distributed immediately after Poulson took his leave. This new theory of the constable`s meant that he, Strom, was guilty of nothing, even indirectly, for his security team had not allowed two alien creatures to land on New Caledonia and kill its people. A new gloom immediately appeared and hovered maliciously over his head, for this new theory also meant that due to the incompetence of his team, the two crew members had been allowed to walk through a high security area unnoticed. Although hardly on the same scale as two homicidal aliens, it would be remembered by those in authority.
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Poulson reasoned that the two people from the Galileo would probably move about during the hours of darkness so that they were not recognised, for the crew of the Galileo all lived on New Caledonia, and following their deaths their photographs were plastered all over the front page of the local newspaper. This meant that for them to walk around during daylight invited a neighbour or family member seeing them.
Constable Poulson had four deputies to assist him in keeping the seven thousand colonists and miners who live and work on New Caledonia, safe. Poulson decided that his two deputies on the night shift could keep an eye out for the two men during the hours of darkness. They would be able to cover more ground, and silently if they operated a drone each, they could then tour the city from the safety of their office without the murderers seeing them. The drones were fitted with one of the new cameras that not only had an infrared capability, but also facial recognition software built into it. This together with a Phaser weapon to stun any suspicious characters, or even the odd alien creature, would improve the chances of finding their suspects. His stress level was already in the red zone, worrying about the safety of the citizens of the planet, now it was raised to breaking point by his next visitor.
“Constable, I need to know just what you are intending to do to protect my people” Bishop Tamaki asked in a loud an angry voice. Tamaki was the head of the Church of the Universe, the only official religion allowed on the planet, for they had helped to fund the setting up of the colony, the Morang Corporation had provided the funds for the many mines and farms around the planet.
“As you may already know Bishop, I spoke with Mr Strom this morning and we decided that the volunteer citizens` brigade should assist me during this emergency. I have just heard from Mr Strom that he now has three teams of ten citizen searching throughout the city. As well as these three teams he has arranged for a rapid response team to be available for the hours of darkness. Unfortunately it is too early to expect any success.”
Constable Poulson then had to spend the next thirty minutes explaining to one of the most powerful people on the planet why he, with the help of the coroner, Dr Kamdar, had been unable to locate the murderer of two of the Bishop`s flock. He did manage to reassure the Bishop that they were looking for two human murders, the idea of an alien creature was just a red herring put about by the prime suspect. He finally managed to usher the Bishop out of his office, but only after promising to keep him informed about the situation.
Constable Poulson finally found two minutes to rest up, unfortunately it was cut short by a flood of calls from the locals, who after hearing the noon news bulletin concerning the supposed alien presence on the planet were scared. The merest shadow had them reporting seeing the creatures, and as is natural in such times as these, they were sighted in different parts of the city, and at around the same time of day. How long could the citizens endure this terrible threat to their lives? They were already beginning to panic on hearing about an invisible alien creature that was killing their friends and neighbours, what would they be like if the murders continued?
Poulson decided to contact Francis Strom and have him ask the citizen`s patrols to investigate the sightings, but he did not expect them to have much success. With this task delegated out he now had the time he needed to come up with some ideas, ideas that would help him find the two murders, invisible alien creatures or not.
Before leaving for home, Constable Poulson waited for the two deputies on the night shift to arrive, he then updated them regarding his new theory regarding the murders, he also gave them new orders of conduct for the time that the hunt was on.
“Vance, Berlin, until I tell you otherwise you will both be doing your nightly patrols from the office using two of the drones, you will use them to search for our murderers, be they human or otherwise. You are to call in any possible sightings of any suspicious characters that match the photographs of the Galileo crew, I want to know immediately, whatever the time of day, should we get lucky. If you can not stun them immediately using the weapons on the two drones, you are not to leave the office and risk your hides on a personal hunt, contact the citizen`s volunteers and get them to come to the police station, they can then assist you in the search.”
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Hidden in an empty warehouse that was still awaiting an occupier, the two alien creatures had just awoken from their day`s sleep. Once again their way of life had changed, this time they lived amongst the even stranger dens of their prey, however, they did not realise the danger posed by the modern technology that was all around them. Luckily for them their hunters had first to acknowledge that the Venetou existed, and then, that they had the ability to blend into the background. At this moment they were resting, not concerned one iota as to just how much bother they were causing to the forces of law and order. They were patiently waiting for the sun to set, for they preferred to hunt at night when their prey was mostly sleeping, and therefore easier to catch and feed off. Talia was just a day into her pregnancy, but even now Sarai was fussing around her, eager for the night to come so that his female could feed, two of the Bora each night from now on, as she was eating for two.
The sun finally set and darkness, their ally, awaited them, and after impatiently waiting for their prey to settle down, they set off to hunt. Their first meal did not take any of their many hunting skills, for they found a man slumped in an alley, he was sleeping off a heavy drinking session that had started very early in the day. The church clock struck one o`clock as Talia drove her two fangs deep in to his neck and then fed upon his life-force, whether their prey was drunk or sober, it still tasted the same. They moved on further into the residential district of the town, at first they found that every home was locked up tight, the town’s people taking precautions after the two deaths the previous morning. Then two young men came walking towards them after a night out celebrating. They were a little drunk, but still capable of thought, and also of protecting themselves, or so they thought. The Venetou halted and moved to either side of the footpath, here they awaited their prey. Sarai thought how simple it was to dine off this prey, one unused to their new role as the hunted, gone was the excitement of the chase. Even so he did feel some of the familiar sense of excitement as their prey drew near, for his pulse began to race, no the thrill of the chase was not all gone, easy as it was. The two men were almost upon them when an armoured vehicle pulled up beside their two unsuspecting prey and a uniformed figure wound down the window and berated them.
“You two did hear about the alien creatures didn`t you, why make it easy for them to dine, get in here now, I will run you both home.” Deputy Vance said angrily. He had spotted them on hi
s monitor in the police station when one of the drones flew over them. As the police station was only around the corner he had left his post and taken one of the police vehicles to ensure that they did not become the next two victims. Had he stayed at his monitor he would have seen the Venetou, however, he thought only of protecting the two young men who were endangering themselves.
The two men looked at one another. “Our taxi has arrived James.” The shorter one said laughing and they both jumped into the armoured vehicle, grins across their faces.
Vance looked across at them with disgust plainly written upon his face. “Jeff, Martin, if I see you two walking around at this time of night again, while this emergency is on, I will lock you both up in the gaol and leave you to stew there for a couple days.” The young men tried to look contrite but somehow they could not quite manage it.
Vance looked at his infrared detector, one of which had been fitted onto this armoured vehicle, nothing was showing on it, he then drove the two young men to their homes and waited until they were safely both inside before continuing back to the police station.
The two Venetou looked after the disappearing vehicle, they were disappointed at missing this easy prey, they had slipped back behind the solid walls of one of the nearby houses and unbeknown to them out of sight of the infrared detector. With their original prey safely home in their houses the Venetou moved silently on along the many other rows of houses, stopping occasionally to sniff the night air in search of a prey. They found signs of many of the household pets that the colonists had brought with them, however they were all strangely silent as the Venetou crept by, only a quiet whimper was to be heard, but mostly they stayed silent. The two hunters were not after the small amount of the life-force to be found within the domesticated beasts of the Bora, they were after that possessed by the Bora themselves. They soon found a house where a window on its upper floor had been left open, the owners thinking they would be safe leaving such an inaccessible window open. The Venetou though were expert climbers, as they had to be on Retem to catch their small prey. They soon scaled the wall and slipped into the house, inside a middle aged couple were sleeping in their bed, they awoke when they were bitten by the hungry Venetou, they died looking at the beast feeding off their partner, this, the man thought, must be what hell is like.