Pivotal Entry: Disturbed Peace
16 Feb 2022Lily Flemmon
Life at CTAC is normally pretty disconnected from the rest of the galaxy, and my life as a Commander, but today... it wasn't. Today, things were.. destructively connected.The first hint I got that something was wrong was a few days ago when I received Eleanor Bresa’s reply and realized that my message had been intercepted and copied. The second was today, when Mia asked me if I knew where Ronni was, saying that she wasn't responding to any messages, and that she wasn't home yet. Mia is Ronni's neighbor, so if she said something was wrong, something was probably wrong. So I went looking for Ronni, in my basic flight suit and usual spacewear, not really thinking about style choices, and if I 'm looking for someone, I'll need my Insight system handy. The search wasn't difficult, and honestly I think I'd be better off if there had been some kind of challenge. Somehow I don't completely lose it when I arrived at Wiikwandiwin, the garden Ronni usually can be found helping at during the day, and after a cursory scan of the garden, filtering for animal-type biological readings, I saw a small red highlighted dot in the dark, on the trunk of a fruit tree about 15 meters away: ferrous hemoglobin, abnormally high concentration. I'm no biology expert like so many people in CTAC, but I know that “ferrous hemoglobin” means dried blood. I ran over there, along the rows of crops, and then across the rows, making a detailed scan as I approached. But I didn't need the scan, because when my eyes followed the spot of blood on the tree down to the ground below it, I saw Ronni's lifeless body.
I froze. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, a full scan of the lifeless body of my best friend. Numbers annotated the scan results, and I couldn't read or understand most of them. I was in too much shock. Hot tears were running down my face, and I knelt down, my knees buckling under me. I was crying enough that I couldn't see clearly, but my Insight was equipped to compensate, and I looked to where her face should be, and I saw the readouts for an automated forensic scan, high accuracy shot at 1.53m range, Kinematic Karma P-15, Grade 5, suppressor likely. Directly puncturing the upper nasal bridge, 0.5mm off-center. I put my hand on her lifeless, limp shoulder, and noticed my hand begin to light up with an on-contact thermal scan, and I looked to see its results, dreading I was too late, that the killer was long gone...
"Insight, read s-summary results of thermal scan, f-forensic context…" I closed my eyes, I couldn't bear to look at the results and I could barely even speak to prompt them, but I knew I needed to know them.
After a brief pause, my suit's automated voice spoke up. "Scan complete. Internal temperature 305.3 Kelvin. Ambient temperature 273.2 Kelvin. Subject deceased for approximately 29.4 minutes."
And with that, my eyes shot open. I wiped the tears off my face, and stood up, my heart pounding. Not even 30 minutes dead means I have a chance. To catch whoever did this. I saved the scan data with the location attached, and running for the tram, I made two hails over comms.
"Omnipol, come in."
"This is Omnipol, what's your-"
"There's been a murder. Send an armed forensics team to Wiikwandiwin Garden, ring 2, section 14. Fresh forensic scan attached, location included."
"Confirmed, forensics will arrive shortly. Will you stay on scene?"
"No, I'm engaging pursuit. Victim's only been dead 30 minutes."
"Roger that. Good luck, Lily."
"Starcon, come in."
"Starcon here."
"There's been a murder in Ring 2, I need you to halt departures, and I need a full report on the last 30 minutes of departure activity, send it to Omnipol too."
"Will you be pursuing a suspect?" In hindsight, it was odd they didn't challenge my request.
"Not sure yet, but have Inter Astra prep Core Dynamics callsign ANG for launch with engines hot."
"Roger that. Compiling reports now, departures will be halted in 60 seconds."
I arrived at the tram, sending it to my quarters, punching in my military-access codes. I heard a single word form the tram's alert system as red indicator lights lit up on either end of the cabin. "Brace."
I took a stance and engaged my magboots just before the tram lurched into motion with enough acceleration to turn a dumpling into a chewy pancake against the rear window. I needed to get into an actual hardsuit, I knew I was pursuing an expert killer, andI had a burning hunch about the particular killer I was going after.
The tram decelerated and the doors opened, and I sprinted to my quarters, opening the door remotely before I arrived.
It only took me 2 minutes to switch suits, but I didn't bother putting on my jacket, as it'd make me more visible. I usually would like that, but not this time, if I want to survive.
I boarded the tram again. "Brace." The tram shot to the hub. I boarded the tram to the docks. "Brace." With a longer run, this tram reached at least 400 meters per second, and I could hear the tramway venting its atmosphere as it accelerated, and I felt a lurch as the trams broke the drastically-reduced speed of sound. I redirected it to my ship, having just received the message that it was ready.
"Omnipol, any new leads?"
"Weapon was modified, but appears to have been 3302 Alliance standard-issue at some point, judging by ballistics."
"Roger that."
"Starcon, check that departure report for outdated Alliance transponder codes."
"Checking... found only one, ASF-302Q. Alliance Chieftain. Left the airlock about 90 seconds before we locked down. Any chance you recognize it?"
"Yes. Those codes belonged to Silas Flemmon before he went rogue."
“Wait, the code is registered under a different name, Lilliere Dehdmithe.”
“How the hell do you not realize that’s an alias? Tell Omnipol to follow my departure, I'm engaging pursuit and I'll need backup.”
There was a short pause. "Departure clearance granted, speed restrictions waived. Be advised, there is a Type-10 in the docking bay, but it’s not blocking your exit. Good luck, Commander."
And with that, I undocked, retracted my landing gear, and boosted through the airlock, just like when I ran from my father. Despite passing it at over 350 meters per second, still accelerating, and focusing on alignment for passing through the airlock, I recognized a Brewer Corp. Type-10, no doubt piloted by Sara Avery. I hope she’s okay after hearing and seeing what just happened.
"Omnipol, I'm exiting the airlock now. Any idea where the killer jumped off to?"
"Not a clue, they high-waked out about 5 minutes ago."
"Alright, then no need to back me up, I have a lead in Opala." Silas just killed my best friend. If he's out to hurt me, that's where he'd be.
I synthed up a high-grade FSD boost, and called Commander Igikaizen, who I had a hunch would be on the NEWP warfront in Opala. "Hey Igeeky, I'm chasing Silas, who just murdered someone at Chilton Terminal 37 minutes ago. Get me a nav beacon scan in Opala, look for an Alliance Chieftain, transponder ASF-302Q. Pursue but don't interdict, I'm jumping to the system now."
"Holy shit, Lily. You have a plan?"
"Yes. And if you don't do your part, your war is about to go south, fast. This guy's Elite V in combat and he fights dirty, and he fights for Hudson. I'll interdict, and you circle the wake signal when I drop. Wait for my OK to drop and extract me."
"Alright. Scanning the beacon now, I'll let you know."
I dropped into Opala, and immediately heard from Igikaizen. "Navlock sent, engaging pursuit."
I got their wing signal and followed, and targeted Silas. My father must have noticed us pursuing him, because he throttled back and performed a loop, perfectly lining up to interdict Igikaizen.
"Igi, whatever you do, DO NOT SUBMIT!" I called out as I lined up to interdict Silas. There was now way I was gonna lose them in the same day. Not if there was anything I could do about it. Igi may have been flying a Corvette, but I knew they were still no match for Silas. I knew right then that I was going to fight dirtier than Silas ever could. I'm versatile and fluid in combat, and that's the only advantage I had on him now, and I was going to use it.
I initiated the interdiction, and Silas did his best to evade, but in a Chieftain, he couldn't outmaneuver me in the slightest. As soon as we dropped, I pointed my nose toward him, and then pitched slightly downward, undoing my seat restraints. I locked the throttle and drew my pistol, and I crouched on the pilot's seat, as a single railgun shot dropped the Angry Pigeon's shields. I spread my arms out and shot the emergency release for the canopy, and I was ejected out as the canopy blew open from internal atmospheric pressure.
Silence as my hardsuit booted up, as I was a black speck against the black backdrop of space, hurtling toward the canopy of the Chieftain piloted by my father. I holstered my pistol and began using my suit's jump-jet to make minor course adjustments.
300 meters to target. I kept my velocity, knowing I was still undetectable, and I kept my shields deactivated to stay that way.
150 meters to target. I began my deceleration, holding on course. My suit's audio systems came online just in time for me to hear my ship explode behind me.
Igi's voice piped up over comms. "Circling, waiting on your signal."
50 meters to target. I knew I only had one attempt at this. I made final course adjustments to intercept the hull panel just below the canopy on the nose of the Chieftain, and activated my shields. I'm visible to him now, but there's nothing he can do at this point.
clunk.
My magboots latched onto the hull. I was inside the Chieftain's shields, and I drew my AR-50, leaned back away from the canopy, and with only 10 shots, caused the front panel of the canopy to explode in a rain of near-invisible shrapnel. I stepped up and stood where the panel used to be, and I saw the face of my father.
War-hardened, contorted with rage. Not at me, but at himself, for making one final, fatal mistake, as he stared down my barrel: he underestimated his final opponent.
But I didn't fire. I savored this moment, my eyes only leaving my father’s face to notice a worn, Alliance-emblazoned P-15 with a suppressor, among many other refinements, clipped to the rear wall of the cockpit.
"Igi, you're clear to drop."
"Roger that… ETA 6 seconds."
And those were the longest 6 seconds of my father's miserable life. He didn't plead. He wanted to die with honor, it seems. What a fool. Any honor he had is long, long gone.
"Lily, where are you? I only see the..." Igi's voice trailed off as they beheld the scene in the cockpit of the Chieftain.
"Igi, watch and stay close.”
"Lily, how did you-"
"I'll explain later. Just watch."
I turned to my father and I stared right into his soulless eyes. He had taught me one thing I hadn’t used outside of communication with him, an all-but-dead language, Greek. And it was something that I proudly continued to learn on my own. And I opened my comms into his suit, knowing Igikaizen would hear me as well, and I said something I’d been waiting to say for years.
Η Περσεφόνη με έστειλε, Λίλυ, να σε παραδώσω στον αγαπημένο της Άδη.
(I Persefóni me ésteile, Líly, na se paradóso ston agapiméno tis Ádi.)
Silas’s face went ghost-white and his expression of rage turned to one of paralyzed horror. He had finally realized that I am the child he had abused for 19 years, and it utterly broke him. I could have let him live, I could have chosen to rebuild his mind into that of a benevolent servant or hero, but I didn’t. He didn’t deserve that, and he’s one of very few people who deserves no mercy. So I waited one, then two more seconds, before emptying the rest of my rifle's magazine in a hail on my father's paled face, turning his head into a crimson cloud of vapor and frozen dust. I holstered my rifle and jumped off the hull. "Ready for extraction." Igikaizen's Corvette swooped in, and they opened their cargo scoop, and I climbed aboard. "Send this navpoint to Omnipol, it's evidence if they need it. But tell them to send the body to Archon Delaine, once I write up the message to go with it."
“What was it that you said to him?” Igi asked as I entered the cockpit of their ship.
I sat in the co-pilot seat, strapped myself in, and let out a sigh before answering them. “It was Greek. To translate… Persephone sent me, Lily, to hand you over to her beloved Hades.”
They were silent for a moment before replying. “Is that Greek for fuck you? If it's not it should be.”
“You know, you're not wrong. Missing some details, but... yeah, that's the gist of it." I looked out from the Corvette's canopy and got myself situated with the sensors, and I saw Igi's hand move for the throttle. "Hey, um, we probably shouldn’t wake out until Omnipol gets here. Can you send them a hail and get a reasonable proximity to that ship? All its systems are still active, so not too close. Half a kilometer, maybe?”
“Sure thing. You know what you’re gonna say?” they asked as they maneuvered to about a 300m range off the top of the Chieftain, which despite being fully active with hardpoints deployed, sat idle.
“I’ve got a bit to figure it out.”
"And hey, before you get focused on that, if you don't mind me asking... why the hell do you speak Greek? I barely even know that language exists, and you sounded really fluent in it."
I looked down at my feet and shifted the purchase of my boots on the footrest. "I- I do mind."
Igi looked over, realizing they'd struck a nerve. In their defense, I had a lot of nerves in striking range at the moment, I'd just killed my own father. "Oh, you don't have to tell me, I'm sorry. I was just-"
"I need to tell you. Tell someone. I..." Memories started rushing back to me, all the ones about that language that hurt. Silas's voice, yelling at me in Greek, telling me I was weak, a disappointment, telling me I needed to be stronger, more of a man. I grabbed my head and threw it back against my headrest, trying to shake off the flashbacks. Silas's voice was ringing in my head... Άνδρας. Andras. Man. Right now, I hated that word. To just me, that word doesn't just mean "man," it also means "pain." I opened my eyes, and I looked out the canopy. Every star felt like it was his face, glaring at me from far away, but still from everywhere.
"Lily. Lily!" Igi's voice cut through the screaming in my head. Their voice was a higher pitch suddenly, not exactly feminine, not even softer, but still it wasn't particularly masculine either.
They'd given me just enough control to get the right glove of my flight suit off and... run my fingers along the knurling of the control stick in front of me. Deep breaths. Focus on the sensation. The little metal bumps, cold, rough, but at the same time, smooth.
I heard Igi's voice again. "I'd say you don't need to tell me, not right now at least. You okay?"
"I'm... coping. I'll be okay. But I really do need to tell you... Silas taught me that language as our little code, our way of communicating secretly, and... verbally abusing me in public. And in private. I- I studied general linguistics and Ancient Greek culture and mythology as a way to make it not hurt so bad, and for the most part, I feel I've made it my own. There's a lot about the language he never taught me, like the symbolism of Persephone being a symbol of strength and making the best of things, and not just a woman being a victim of a trick she 'deserved.' But sometimes, the whole language is still like a raw, open wound, like... a laser blast that grazes across the back of your neck." I reached back and felt the scar from such a wound, wincing a bit, not because it wasn't healed, but because I remembered the day my father gave it to me.
Igi was silent for a while, and they held off on hailing Omnipol, since clearly I wasn't ready.
"You know, when people die, they really do stay with us in our heads. Sometimes that's an absolutely horrible thing, like with Silas... But usually it's a wonderful thing. I don't know who he murdered at Chilton, but it seems like it was someone close to you. Maybe it'd help to imagine that person in full combat gear, say, as a heavy medic, absolutely smoking the shit out of Silas?"
I couldn't imagine Ronni wearing composite combat armor, but I imagined her in a sort of... mechanized tree armor suit, and the thought of a Class 1 railgun shot hitting my father in the chest in an on-foot firefight was admittedly satisfying, and I smiled.
"You know..." I turned to look at Igi, smiling slightly through the tears on my face. "If there's some kind of crowd-sourced Greek-to-English dictionary, I should put in what I said to him as an alternate translation for fuck you."
"Well, Lily, you certainly bounce back fast. I'm impressed; I'd even say you should be proud of that."
"Honestly, I have to, but still... Thanks. And you're a good friend. Hey did you hail Omnipol yet?"
"I've been waiting until you were ready, but I'll do that..." They pressed a few buttons on their External panel. "Now."
Omnipol showed up about a minute later, a Viper Mk III and an Anaconda. “Crime scene cordon in effect, all ships are to remain in the area until cordon is lifted.”
I hailed the officers, “Omnipol, this is Commander Flemdogmillionaire. I am fully responsible for the death of the pilot of that Chieftain. Warrant scans may not reveal any bounty, but genetic scans will reveal his identity to be Silas Flemmon. I have evidence that he committed a murder under his falsified identity as well, approximately 40 minutes ago, if that’s necessary.”
The Viper swooped down and scanned the Chieftain, and a feminine voice came over the comms. “This is Omnipol, confirming that you said the pilot is dead? All ship systems appear online and undamaged- wait, canopy?” A pause as Igi and I looked at each other, and I let out a guilty chuckle. “How the hell? Sergeant, get me a genetic scan of the pilot. I’ll let this one slide, because this is some impressive and… unusual carnage. And Commander, is this related to the chatter we heard over comms about Chilton Terminal in 21 Draco?”
“Affirmative. This ship left Chilton Terminal under some very suspicious circumstances. The murder weapon is mounted at the rear wall of the cockpit, a suppressed and highly modified Alliance-issued P-15.”
“Alright, let me have a look-” The Viper’s external lights came on. “Sure enough, there it is. We’ll leave the scene intact for now, this whole ship has gotta be chock-full of evidence. Oh, speaking of, genetic cross-check returns Silas Flemmon. Commander, it appears you are correct.”
“Heh, yeah I knew pretty easily. Biologically and legally, I’m his daughter. It’s… a long story.”
Igi piped up. “Commander Igikaizen speaking. I can confirm, I’ve read it, and it is indeed a long story.”
“Well, Commander Flemdog- how is that pronounced?”
“Just call me Lily.”
“Well, Commander Lily, the murder bounty claim is still pending, but it’ll be awarded to you, and as for the bounty on Silas… I’m just gonna, uh, send you the list.”
“And… receiv- holy shit. Igi, look at this.”
In both our comms panels we saw a list of bounty claims, summarized because of its length:
FACTIONS:
FEDERAL FACTIONS [49]: TOTAL 32,304,267 CR
ALLIANCE FACTIONS [81]: TOTAL 43,906,862 CR
IMPERIAL FACTIONS [57]: TOTAL 27,349,606 CR
INDEPENDENT FACTIONS [162]: TOTAL 115,752,674 CR
TOTAL[349]: 219,313,409 CR
POWERS:
YURI GROM 100,000,000 CR
FELICIA WINTERS: 80,000,000 CR
ARCHON DELAINE: 50,000,000 CR
LI YONG-RUI: 6,000,000 CR
AISLING DUVAL: 15,000,000 CR
DENTON PATREUS: 3,000,000 CR
ZACHARY HUDSON: 2,500 CR
TOTAL: 254,002,500 CR
GRAND TOTAL: 473,315,909 CR
Comms and the cockpit were silent other than the gentle sound of Igi’s jaw dropping open, and closing again after several seconds.
Eventually I broke the silence. “Commander Lily to Omnipol, before you ask me what I’m going to do with that money, I don’t know yet. Except I’ll forward Hudson’s part of the bounty claim to Yuri Grom, as a… casual formality. Give him something to chuckle about. And once investigations are complete, I’d like to have Silas’s body given to Archon Delaine, with this message:” I held a recording switch on my hardsuit. “Archon Delaine, I request that you give this body the most honorless, humiliating burial possible, and I request that you enjoy it. While we certainly disagree on many things, I gladly will defer to you on how to dispose of this carcass. The privilege should be yours, as the body ultimately belongs to you.”
“Roger that. Bounty claim’s y- what the hell?”
“Lily to Omnipol, is there a problem?”
A new voice spoke up over the comms. “Lily, this is Omnipol wing leader, there’s a 20 million credit bounty on your head, for, let’s see… an Omnipol-classified reason, but that reason is clearly some bullshit. Bounty popped up moments after we awarded you your claim, and… there we go, I cleared the price on your head. I don’t care what Command has to say, there’s no way in hell that was a valid bounty. Crime scene cordon lifted. Been a hell of a day. Omnipol out.”
With comms closed, I leaned my head back against my seat and let out a long sigh as Igi started their departure, setting a course for the Philosopher’s Respite. “Yeah… hell of a day.”
