Downfall, Part 1
07 Jun 2017User4296
Bruce Prospect, Avik SystemFederation Space
June 3302
Unlike Coriolis and Orbis Stations, outposts weren't designed to handle many people, relatively speaking. Also, thanks to their smaller size, they tended to be highly customizable - outposts were available in all sorts of configurations, from tourist traps to mining outposts. Pirate gangs also tended to take control of them to use as bases. In this case, Bruce Prospect was considered to be a sort of training ground for Sirius Corporation.
Sirius Corporation, controlled by its CEO, Li Yong-Rui, was currently making headlines as one of the few - if not the only - corporation that acted more or less like a political entity, and it holdings inside the bubble were proof enough of that. However, the company never forgot where it came from - it was once headquartered in the Sirius system, so named for the binary star system that it held. At one time, it was considered to be the brightest "star" in the night sky of Earth. The fact that it was the first company to own a solar system wasn't lost on anyone.
Still, as Li Yong-Rui and the board of directors guided the rest of the corporation on to bigger and better things, a smaller division of the company remained in Sirius, mostly to oversee the system for historical purposes. Given its relative importance to the company, only its most trusted employees and associates were allowed into the system. Avik, then, was effectively the front door.
These thoughts were the ones I found floating inside my head during the long tram ride from the dockyards into the outpost's living area, which housed its 42,000-some odd residents. I had made this trip before, the first time I had arrived here - and though only a few short months had passed, it seemed like a lifetime ago.
The tram eventually deposited me in its central hub, and it was here that the strange mix of people on this station became apparent - while the vast majority of the station's population were miners who worked the operations on the planet that Bruce Prospect orbited, there were also a fair number of suits, doubtless providing administrative support. There were also a healthy number of spacers - the supply ships that kept the station going, along with the occasional curious mercenary who wanted to see Sirius for themselves.
I suppose I fall into the last group, I thought.
Centrally located in the hub, along the one remaining wall that didn't contain a tram tunnel, was a large door. The Sirius Corporation logo printed over the door made it fairly obvious what it was, and within a few seconds I had passed through it, the doors having parted at my approach.
The room's layout was largely the same as before, and two women were standing behind the counter, facing each other. One I recognized as Banjo's receptionist, but the other woman was new. They both turned toward me as I entered.
"Welcome to Sirius Corporation! Can we help you?" the receptionist asked.
"Sorry, was just looking for Banjo," I said.
The mood in the room changed ever so slightly, and the two women glanced at each other.
The new one, an olive skinned woman with close cropped black hair, stepped around the table. "Ah - I'm terribly sorry. Mr. Connell's been... reassigned," she said. "And your name is?"
"John Mathurin," I replied. "Can you tell me where to find him? It's kind of important."
She nodded slightly and studied my face for a moment, then struck out a hand. "Ah! Mr. Mathurin! Mr. Connell's mentioned you in his reports. My name is Emmalyn Mathis, and I've been assigned to replace him. As a matter of fact, he left a package here for you."
Emmalyn turned, and the receptionist reached under the counter, producing a small brown box a few moments later, and handed it to her. She then handed the box to me.
"Thanks," I said, shrugging, and turned to leave.
"Of course, Mr. Mathurin! Also, please keep us in mind should you require work! We can always use talented pilots, and you come highly recommended!" she called, and the door slid shut a few moments later.
***
I placed the box down on the table in the Illaria's small galley, tore one end open, and shook the contents out onto the table. Two items fell out - a smaller box, wrapped in different packaging, and a small, folded piece of paper, with "John" written on one side. I opened it:
John,
By the time you get here I've been reassigned. Don't know where yet, and I probably won't try contacting you even if I did. Only reason I'm doing this now is because this came for you from our... mutual friend.
- Banjo
P.S. Sexual harassment lawsuits are a bitch.
I shrugged and tossed the note aside, and tore the smaller box open. A small holodisk lay inside.
A quick scan with my PDA revealed that the disk was clean. With a shrug, I slotted it onto the side of the screen on the wall of the galley. A low hum filled the room as the information was processed, and two items appeared on the screen a moment later:
> PLAY ME FIRST
> READ ME SECOND
I shrugged and tapped the first option, and an image of a door appeared. After a moment, the video automatically played, and the door opened, revealing a large dining room that had a sitting area on the far side. Decorations were strewn all around the room –
Oh no. No.
The person controlling the camera stopped just past the dining room and held the view on the sitting area. Nearly at the same instant, two doors on the other end of the room opened, and several people were pushed out of them. One person was pushed past the camera, and everyone was herded into the middle of the room. I recognized all of these people: Cassandra's family. Sidra was there too.
The people doing the herding said nothing, instead choosing to speak with the butts of their rifles. After a moment, the room settled into relative peace - Sidra and Cassandra huddled together, Cassandra's father was in front glaring at their captors angrily, and her mother was unsuccessfully trying to calm her younger daughter down. Surrounding them in a loose circle were the aggressors, all clad in the same nondescript special ops gear.
Cassandra's father was yelling, "Now see here! Don't you know who I am? Who are you to come into my house and-" he was answered by the butt of a rifle across his face, his words lost in a groan as he slumped to one side and spat out blood.
Two of the men came in - one grabbed Cassandra while the other grabbed Sidra, and forcibly separated them. The two women clutched at each other to no avail, and everyone screamed as Cassandra was dragged out past the camera. Sidra was kept separate from the rest of the family.
"You may proceed," a voice said. The circle collapsed, leaving Sidra and her captor alone. The rest of the gunmen leveled their silenced weapons at the family and –
I looked away. The only sounds in the room were the puff that the silenced weapons made, and Sidra's screams. It was over in a few seconds, leaving only Sidra's sobs. I looked back at the screen.
A new figure entered the scene, this one wearing an immaculately tailored suit and slicked-back black hair, and turned toward the camera. He had gained a terrible burn over one eye that extended up into part of his scalp, but the Asian features were unmistakable.
Takamura.
"I told you that you were making a terrible mistake," he said. "Unfortunately, in your haste, you didn't let me finish - we usually end up with what we want anyway." He shrugged. "And I seem to have gained a nice memento to remind me of the occasion." He gestured at the large burn that covered part of his face.
"Even still," he went on, removing a silencer from a pocket, which he began to screw onto the barrel of the pistol he held in his hand, "I like to think of it as... added motivation." He smiled. "Alas, there is still one loose end to tie up." He turned toward Sidra and shot her in the chest. She let out a small cry and slumped to the ground.
"Traitors are to be dealt with," Takamura said to her. The video froze there, apparently over, and the menu reappeared again a second later.
It took several minutes for the shock of what I had just witnessed to pass. Finally, I took the few steps toward the screen and pressed the "READ ME SECOND" option.
A press release appeared on the screen:
FOR IMMEDATE RELEASE
APEX UNLIMITED GOES PUBLIC
Join us at a gala event on Deslandres Terminal in Yarrite as Apex Unlimited announces its intention to become a publicly traded company. Apex Unlimited has long been involved in the gene therapy and biomedical science fields, and it is on the verge of a large breakthrough. It is only fitting that the company would like to share the profits from this exciting time with smart investors.
I checked the date. The gala was a week away, and I had a few preparations to make.