Chapter 1 , Chapter 2 , Chapter 3
Chapter 4 , Chapter 5 , Chapter 6
Chapter 7 , Chapter 8 , Chapter 9
Chapter 10 , Chapter 11 , Chapter 12
completed under the #######
Merc.
Chptr 13
=======
Storral was finding it impossible to try and co-ordinate without internal station comms and the last thing he wanted to do right now was inform Chalotta about the lack of progress since the deaths.
This event had given him an area of the station he could now focus on to the point that he had relocated himself just to get away from the continual status update requests. In order to get some chain of communications in place they had seconded runners, no more than young lads, to carry message chips to each group. He only hoped that Tor would have the decency not to gun down a boy.
The portable scanners had been dragged from stores and each of the lower level units had them activated. However the scan range was seriously impaired by the high energy power units on the robot only decks. The upper one was a full deck that converged on the stations power core. Much of the deck however could not be observed due to the mass of suspended power conduits fanning out like a web into a series of massive transformers and primary grounding units, before linking into substation units and a network of relays and secondary ground units.
Storral knew that Tor would be somewhere on that deck or the one below. There was no way out of those levels except to climb the ladders or take the maintenance lifts. His one concern was that if Tor climbed down to the next level he would be able to enter the manufacturing half of the factory. The energy cell mover was still stuck in the entrance of the blast door having been damaged when the system virus caused the door to shut. The maintenance crew had reopened the door but Storral had sent a runner to tell them to get back up to the crew levels before they had a chance to repair the unit.
Both sides of the station were guarded and Storral was certain Tor would be caught or at least shot. The fate of the technicians prevented him from sending in a team to flush Tor out.
Tor moved as quietly as he could with the bolt gun firmly gripped in his right hand. Having made a decision to climb down to the next level in order to have a full deck between him and any casual observer on the upper levels, it was now a case of finding a maintenance ladder. As he proceeded along he glanced over his shoulder every few moments to check no one was creeping up behind him.
Sweety reported, "High energy fields over to the left will impair my scanner."
Tor nodded not daring to speak in case his voice carried far enough to give away his position. He moved back not risking an unexpected encounter with the assassin. A maintenance robot crossed the intersection. Tor chanced a whisper against the background hum of the equipment, "Is there any reason that thing keeps going past."
Sweety replied, "It's on a preprogrammed routine. As the computers are down it is stuck in a functional cycle of perform task, return to station, get new task, perform task. Poor thing is not getting any new data so it is repeating the old task until it gets the instruction to stop or do something different."
Tor muttered, "Not too bright then?"
Sweety commented sympathetically, "It is not a trait required for the job."
Tor checked the scanner and approached the aisle. He glanced swiftly in both directions and moved to the other side. Ahead of him was the bulkhead, he needed to move around the periphery and Sweety showed him the nearest ladder on the floor map.
The metal frame around the top of the opening was situated adjacent to a large open maintenance robot lift. Sweety said, "It is thirty five metres down to the next deck floor. I would encourage you to climb down as quickly as you can."
Tor looked over the edge and it plunged into darkness. He whispered, "There's no light down there!"
Sweety replied, "That's because robots don't need light to see."
Tor muttered, "Fantastic, if he doesn't get me then I'm likely to fall and break my neck in the dark."
Sweety replied, "He has the weapons and from what I can tell is a better shot than you. You need all the help you can get and I have the access codes to activate the work lamps."
Tor grabbed the ladder and whispered, "That's exactly what I needed to hear."
Sweety asked, "Which bit?"
Tor replied, "You can turn on the lights."
ThaStornlas' movements were so fluid that they appeared effortless despite the speed he moved at and the virtual silence with which he did it with, which was only broken by the soft pad as each foot touched down for a brief instance. With a grab for the top of a ladder he descended into darkness.
Ghaan reached the point where Tor had dealt with his wound. Kneeling down he looked around and then focussed his attention on the blood splattered on the casings. He smiled as he muttered to himself, "Looks like I hurt you Mr. Grall, but where have you gone?"
The hunt was in earnest and Tor had shown resilience and determination in staying alive. Ghaan approved, it would make killing him more rewarding.
The lack of blood dripping from this location was a clear indication that Tor had stemmed the flow. The slight smell of anesthetic was indicative that Tor had a med-pack. How long the blood had been here was slightly harder to tell, but he guessed it must have been less than ten Mizuras.
Checking the scanner revealed nothing. Looking around he could have easily missed Tor when the scanner ceased to function. Somehow he also felt slightly more at ease that he was no longer being watched. Now that he thought about it this in itself was odd. He looked up and in his own mind he asked, 'Where could the watcher have gone and why?'
He knew it was not wise to hang around just in case some fool decided to risk his life and look over a balcony above. Ghaan considered that the security team would think that they were not paid enough to deal with situations like this and then smiled when he thought that the security team was not being paid at all.
His mind strayed to wondering if it could have been Tor watching him. Looking around again he was satisfied that he was alone. In which case he asked himself where would Tor have gone? He would not be able to ascend because of the security, so Tor must have moved down to the next level. Checking the floor map he located the nearest ladder and on the assumption that Tor may have used that and headed towards one nearby.
Broden stood just ahead of Polmanckelest and for the first time in longer than he dared to remember, felt nervous. This was his first face to face meeting and the holo-conference had not done justice to the creature.
To his mind ThiRioth emanated untold strength. He felt that the big Mohrabas could crush the life out of him in an instance. Tors' description had been good but no words would have truly prepared him for this meeting.
He wondered how Tor ever managed with the look of curiosity that the Chief Councillor now gave him. He fought back against his primeval instincts and took a deep breath to steady himself, "Excellency, we know who the assassin is. It is in both our interest to catch him. However we have a," Broden thought for a few moments, "Difficulty." It was a lame word but Broden continued to feel uncomfortable. ThaStornla had a certain majesty about him and despite his size he never made Broden feel as uncomfortable as this.
ThiRioth gave a simple single nod.
Broden felt comforted by the unease of Polmanckelest beside him in that even the Paranid hero felt as uncomfortable as he did. Broden continued, "We know the assassin kills as much for pleasure than pay. If anyone should get in his way then he will have no qualms about terminating them."
ThiRioth asked, "And your point is?"
Broden was slightly surprised by the question, "ThaStornla is on the station. The station commander will believe that he will have played some part in the sabotage. Both he and Tor are on the run and the assassin will kill both of them. Doesn't that bother you."
ThiRioth gave a nod then, to Brodens surprise, smiled, "I can appreciate your concern. However although some of your assertions are true, I can confirm that ThaStornla has not been arrested."
Broden felt the wind had been robbed from his sails and asked, "What makes you so sure?"
ThiRioth answered, "I have spoken to him." Broden was lost for words and ThiRioth continued, "However I share your concern for the life of his Highness. He is acting far too rashly so at your request a messenger will be sent to the station."
++++++
Broden asked, "You say you've spoken to ThaStornla?"
ThiRioth gestured in the affirmative, "Understand only your own communications on board the station are affected. The device his Highness carries is unaffected by your systems failure."
Broden asked, "Excellency, did he say anything about what's going on on the station?"
ThiRioth looked at Broden thoughtfully and replied, "Only that he has located the assassin and will attempt to catch him."
Brodens mind felt eased by this news. That ThaStornla was a definite ally and appeared to be about to help Tor was welcome information. Yet this news was also a double edges sword as if any harm came to the Emperors son he doubted that words of forgiveness and understanding would echo in the halls of the Mohrabas leadership. A question raised itself in his mind and asked, "Excellency, did his Highness mention what he would do with the assassin when he caught him?"
With a slight smile ThiRioth said, "What indeed? A question that has crossed my mind and one to which I do not have an answer."
Polmanckelest asked, "Excellency, when will this messenger be ready?"
ThiRioth glanced over to the Paranid and answered, "One can be deployed in a," He thought about the alien time unit and said, "Mizura."
Broden asked, "Sorry Excellency, but what type of messenger are you sending?"
With a glance at both visitors he growled, "Robotic."
Tor reached the bottom of the ladder, the shafts of light from the deck above bounced and reflected off the walls. His initial fear that he would be groping around in absolute darkness became lessened as his eyes became more accustomed to the shapes around him. However where the bounced light could not reach the pitch black was impenetrable.
He shielded the glow of the datapad screen for fear it would act as a beacon to his location. Guided by Sweetys' verbal directions he moved deeper into the shadows.
The mechanical sounds of machinery and conveyors allowed him to keep his bearings in the dark as the hum of power conduits masked his cautious footsteps on the hard metal surface.
Slowly he edged towards the manufacturing plant he glanced towards the pools of light in the deck above to see if anyone was descending a ladder. With nothing on the scanner he froze as a growl commented in his ear, "Having fun Tor?"
Tors' pulse slowly began to calm itself as he whispered half in anger and half in relief, "Are you trying to scare me to death?" He turned and could not see ThaStornla in the darkness but he could sense the Mohrabas within an arms reach.
ThaStornlas' quiet purr melted into the hum of the equipment around them but Tor could make out the words, "The one you're looking for is also on this deck. He also appears to be wearing some optical device that is helping him to see his way around."
With a curse Tor responded quietly, "Night vision. How do you see in the dark?"
ThaStornla purred gently, "I don't have to see to find my way around."
With a nod Tor said, "Unfortunately my senses aren't so well evolved. So if you could just catch this guy for me then that would be useful."
ThaStornla replied, "He has a different weapon to the one he used previously. I'm not certain how it differs but I thought I'd mention it."
With a nod Tor looked at the technical datapad and asked quietly, "Sweety do you have any sort of weapons database we can access?"
Sweety answered through the earpiece, "Strangely enough I do but it is not too comprehensive. If you pass me over to ThaStornla and ask him to describe the weapon he saw I can try to match it."
Tor held out the pad and said, "Sweety wants you to describe the weapon and she will try to find a match."
ThaStornla took the pad and Tor saw the Mohrabas shield the screen leaving him in darkness. The gentle purring voice was the only indication ThaStornla was still there and after a brief while Sweety commented, "We believe the weapon is a dart gun."
The technical pad was pushed back into his hand and Tor took a brief look at the screen to see the picture of the weapon. He whispered, "Poison?"
Sweety replied, "Quieter than a blaster and in the darkness there will be no pre-charge muzzle glow."
ThaStornla purred, "He's getting closer."
Tor looked at the screen and saw nothing. He whispered, "Shall we catch ourselves an assassin?"
Chalotta was in a particularly bad mood due to the persisting problems with the stations computers and the time it was taking to isolate all the effected systems and take them off line.
When a very perplexed security guard appeared she snapped at him, "What now?"
The guard held a datapad and said hesitantly, "A, err, something, err, a messenger just delivered this. Commander"
Chalotta stared at him and replied sharply, "A messenger? From whom?"
The guard held out the datapad, "The Mohrabas."
She considered that if this was some kind of practical joke then someone was going to have a very bad time. Chalotta responded sarcastically, "If you haven't noticed the docking bay is out of order."
The guard replied hastily, "It came through the airlocks. Commander."
She asked harshly, "Then why didn't you show him up?"
With a look of apprehension the guard answered, "It's not a person, Commander. It's a robot."
There was a momentary hesitation and she asked cautiously, "What type of robot?"
Swallowing hard the guard replied, "If I were to take a guess then I would say it's a battle-droid."
Chalotta stood perfectly still and then moved forward and took the datapad. The pad itself was a standard one used by the races and she hooked it into the holographic projection unit.
The first image was that of ThiRioth as he announced, "I am ThiRioth, Chief Councillor of the Mohrabas people. Greetings. We are aware of a situation on board your station which could endanger the safety and well being of His Highness ThaStornla, son of our exulted Emperor. Please be aware that should any harm come to His Highness then the Sentinel which delivered this message will take any action necessary to protect him. Unfortunately although this unit will be able to identify species it does not have the programming to recognise individuals and as such will target the species of an aggressor and deem everyone of that race as a legitimate target. Only His Highness has the power to control this unit now that it is on board your station. Shortly it will activate its search routine and locate ThaStornla. Once this has been achieved it will move to protect His Highness."
Chalotta was surprised and said quickly, "His Highness should, from all accounts, still be in his room. Tell him he has a visitor." As the guard left to deliver the message she called out, "And be polite." She would work out an apology for her discourtesy later.
Brodens' image appeared and before he began to speak she shut down the datapad. To her mind he had nothing that she wanted to hear.
A few mizura later and a very red faced guard skidded into the room having sprinted the length of the corridor. Between heavy gasps for air he spluttered out the words, "The alien's not in his room."
The Sentinel stirred. Its armour plates moved and interlocked as it rose from its crouched position. The deep red glow of the slit in the visor against the jet black and silver armour had observers shifting back uneasily. It turned slowly and scanned the deck. With primary weapon arm elbows locked and weapons pointing forward the unit hovered forwards with a singularity of purpose.
Ghaan had Tor on scanner. His movement was slow and cautious to the point that he began to wonder if Tor was simply groping around aimlessly in the dark. Still he was not going to take any chances. Cautiously he began to circle around to try and sneak up on Tor.
The gradual sensation that someone else was in the dark caused the hairs on the back of his neck to start to rise. It was the same feeling as before yet there was no-one but Tor on the screen.
He stopped and crouched down for a while and strained his ears to try and hear any extraneous sounds over the general monotonous hum of the power units. He slipped a discreet injector on to one of his belt clips. Ready to be detached at a moments notice should he be disarmed.
*********
Staying in a low crouch he moved as quietly as possible. The night optics digitally enhancing the surrounding objects in a mix of green and red haze.
The scanner showed Tor moving in a stop, start manner and every so often changing direction. With every passing moment he closed in, occasionally pausing to look around just in case he had missed someone.
He ducked under a low conduit to reach the next aisle and would be just one away from Tor when he heard a low growl. In an instant he was lifted from the ground like a rag doll. A hand seized his wrist in a vice like grip and continued to squeeze the life out of it. He refrained from crying out in pain and with his flailing free hand caught hold of the injector and stabbed it into the forearm of ThaStornla. The grip remained strong with only a deep growl to penetrate the darkness.
Spot lights came on and the light on. The night vision goggles blinded him that he was forced to knock them from his head. The sound of Tors feet pounded the deck over that of the transformers.
Suddenly ThaStornlas grip relaxed and released. Ghaan dropped one foot onto the deck as Tor skidded around the corner and then flung himself past into the other aisle as Ghaan brought the dart gun around.
He was gone before he could take proper aim. The vice like grip had effected his reaction time and he was still slightly dazzled by the sudden flash of light.
Ghaan spoke out loud, "Well, well Mr Grall. It look like your friend is vulnerable to our poisons too."
Somewhere above them the Sentinels weapons charged and it blasted the gates apart of the maintenance lift. Moving out into the void the hover pack allowed it a rapid and controlled descent.
ThaStornla had slid down the support behind him, the breathing shallow. Ghaan stood over him the dart gun in hand and glanced at his time piece. With the voice box programmed with Tors' vocal sounds he called out, "Interesting. Four times the dose needed to kill the strongest of the known races and you'll be pleased to know your friend has lasted three times longer, but I can sense the end is near now."
The Mohrabas Captains eyes rolled up to look at him, the eye lids closed slowly and the head lulled forward. Ghaan called out, "Looks like it's over. But don't worry Mr. Grall it's your turn next."
Tor called back, "Don't you think it'll look a bit odd when we're both found dead down here."
Ghaan replied, "Who said anything about finding you down here? No. What I have in mind for you Mr. Grall is a terrible accident. Only it'll look like just punishment for your crimes and no one will think twice about it."
Tor asked, "Why are you doing this? What's in it for you?"
Ghaan waved the dart gun around the corner, there was no buzz so he chanced a quick look around the side of the unit to see Tor scuttle around the next corner just as the lights went out again.
He looked around and had to allow his eyes time to adjust to the gloom and said, "It looks like you're not as helpless as you make out Mr. Grall. The lights are a nice trick."
Tor responded from the darkness, "You didn't answer my question."
Ghaan groped around for the night vision glasses and recovered his dropped pack before he answered, "Because I enjoy my work Mr. Grall. The money isn't that important. It's the challenge and I get to meet interesting people just before I kill them. A bit like your dead friend here." He kept his eyes half shut as he put on the optics and as he did so the lights came on again. With a smile Ghaan commented, "Now you're not playing fair Mr. Grall."
Tor was moving gently, his heart felt it was trying to burst from his chest and he had adrenaline coursing through his veins. The death of ThaStornla left him with mixed emotions, a sense of great loss and that if the assassin did not kill him then the Mohrabas would. Just for the moment he would not give the assassin the satisfaction. The lights had come on again and Tor took stock of the position of Ghaan.
With the bolt gun in hand he made a move to keep as much in between him and the assassin as possible until he could get a clear shot. Sweety guided him, he was in no doubt his opponent had a scanner so his position would always be known.
Sweety commented, "I have access to the scanner on his datapad."
The assassin called out, "I know where you are Mr. Grall so there's no point running around like this. You know I'll catch you."
Tor was beginning to find the assassin calling him Mr. Grall a little annoying and responded, "You do know if you kill me you'll never get back to get paid by Feran."
The assassin gave a soft laugh, "Ahh, but Mr. Grall you've led me to a place that is like heaven and I am God. I have no history here, and I've done great things."
Tor replied bitterly, "You think killing all those people was a 'great thing'?"
Ghaan replied, "Oh, but I didn't kill them Mr. Grall. Officially you did! And who but God can move in such unseen ways."
This caused Tor to flush with rage and he called back angrily, "Only a sick f****r like you."
The assassin was moving cautiously towards him, "Now, now, Mr. Grall. You should feel humbled by my presence and prepare to be smited for lack of belief by my holy retribution, and for your blasphemy."
Tor was by the corner of the aisle which Ghaan stood on the other side of. He tapped the technical datapad and after several Sezura, Sweety said, "Now."
Tor stepped around the corner and as he took aim Ghaan swung around to face him. As the dart gun swept up Tor instinctively dropped to the floor, the hiss of the projectile skimmed over his head.
Tor moved the bolt gun and then lowered it to the floor his eyes transfixed on the barrel of the dart gun that pointed straight at his head. Ghaan shook his head saying, "Tut, tut, Mr. Grall. Another nice trick that just lacked the sound of footfall."
#########
Tor sighed and asked, "So what now?"
Ghaan replied, "You get to enjoy this brief moment of fear and then you." The sentence hung as a section of the ceiling boomed and was then torn apart revealing a new shaft of light through which something dropped. Ghaan turned his head to look at the hole allowing the dart gun to drift off target.
Tor pulled the trigger of the bolt gun. The crack of the bolt discharge was instant Ghaans’ dart gun fired an instant later out of reaction as the bolt smashed its way through the assassins’ right foot lifting him from the ground to pirouette above the deck before crashing down on the hard surface.
Tor felt the body of the dart cut across the side of his head and then heard it rattle across the floor.
He was up on his feet with the bolt gun in hand. Ghaan grimaced in pain, the dart gun gone from his hand but Tor knew better than believe the assassin was now unarmed. He leveled the bolt gun and took aim.
Ghaan looked back his face a mixture of pain and hatred. There was no fear in those cold eyes. Through clenched teeth Ghaan said, "Well what are you waiting for?"
Tor hesitated and replied calmly, "I should take you in alive."
Ghaan appeared to smile despite the pain, "Yes, you are the, good man Mr. Grall. It is your duty." He grimaced, "But who will believe you're not the killer?"
Tor commented strongly, "They will believe me. All the evidence is here."
With a pained laugh Ghaan replied, "Feran believes you’re his nemesis but you are so weak minded. A real hero would have killed me by now." He looked at Tor, "Did you like my traps?"
Images of the victim Wilasma and those he met just before the explosion tore the room apart, merged with the memory of Commander Parrel and lastly ThaStornla slumped against the post, flashed across his eyes. He said, "I only said should, but it doesn't matter any more if I don't take you in alive. You killed ThaStornla and have condemned us to war with his race and it's one we will lose."
Ghaan winced as he dragged himself into a sitting position leaving a trail of blood from the obliterated right foot. With his back resting against the power transformer behind him he looked at Tor and smiled, "So even if you kill me now, you're still going to die soon. That makes me feel so much better. But tell me what did you do to that bolt gun?"
Tor replied, "It has a pre-charge mode but I think we've talked enough." He felt the presence of something behind him. Glancing over he saw the bulk of the new generation Sentinel filling the aisle.
Ghaan commented, "Looks like the aliens have started the war already. From here I get the opportunity to see you die Mr. Grall. Now that will be fun."
Tor stood still and was undecided what to do next and then came to a decision, "Goodbye Mr. Assassin." A deep growl stopped his finger. Looking up quickly he saw ThaStornla step around the corner.
Ghaans' face looked stunned briefly before he regained his calm composure, "Well, well, looks like our poisons aren't as effective on your kind as I thought." Sensing the moment slip away from him he threw a small dart at Tor.
ThaStornla knocked the bolt gun to one side and it discharged down the aisle to hit a unit that briefly showered sparks in all directions. In the same lightning fast reflexes he caught the dart. The Sentinel did not move.
ThaStornla looked at the dart and replied in a growl, "I'm not so easy to kill as that."
Ghaan replied with a touch of regret, "Apparently not."
Reaching down and without concern for Ghaans’ missing right foot ThaStornla grabbed the front of his overalls and lifted him effortlessly from the floor. He placed him in the grip of the Sentinel which generated a restraining field.
Ghaan went ashen white from the blood loss and ThaStornla knelt down to apply a tourniquet to the lower leg. Tor saw Ghaan flinch but in the field he was otherwise unable to move.
ThaStornla turned back to Tor and said, "Now we have to get out of here."
Tor gave a wry smile and commented, "For a moment there I thought he'd killed you." ThaStornla pulled up the sleeve of his right arm and showed a bracelet that blinked mauve. Tor frowned and commented, "That doesn't look so good."
ThaStornla leant forward and purred in reply, "There is only a certain amount of anti-venom available to me. So we must move fast."
Tor looked at the technical datapad and commented, "Sweety, give us some options."
Sweety replied, "From here I would suggest escape pods, however our assassin here has infected those on the lowest level with a virus."
Tor replied, "Can you clear any of the viruses."
Sweety replied, "All of them. Just say the word. But as soon as they get a transporter fix on you, you will be in big trouble."
Tor commented, "Now you tell me. Okay, here's what I want you to do."
Chalotta sat in the controllers chair of the command centre and watched the red flashing lights on all the screens. Suddenly the power went out, consoles flickered and open computer panels glowed. Maintenance robots silently glided past technicians frozen in the darkness. Cards were reinserted. She called out, "What is going on?"
A voice replied from the darkness, "Your guess is as good as mine."
A computer voice said in dulcet tones, "Docking bay operational. Docking permission granted. Incoming ship on final approach. Docking crews to standby."
Chalotta called out angrily, "What’s going on here?"
A voice replied, "I don't know."
The computer announced, "Systems initialisation sequence started."
A few mizuras passed in silence as the maintenance robots left. The screens flickered to life and showed they were beginning to recover. System checks flickered to green as the lights gradually began to rise and illuminated the room.
The command crew looked around and Chalotta asked, "Are all systems back on line?"
One of the crew glanced at the monitor and replied, "Internal scanners and transporters still unavailable, but we do have comms."
She said, "Excellent, get me Storral."
The sound of heavy booted feet echoed along the corridor.
The image of Storral appeared and he had the look of a man whose bad day had just got worse. He asked hastily, "Yes Commander?" Just as Broden stepped into the room.
Chalottas' eyes narrowed and she responded, "Get yourself up here I have someone for you to arrest."
However Broden was not alone as six Mohrabas warriors filed into the room behind him. He said, "Fortunately for you the Mohrabas people are a forgiving race. These warriors belong to the Emperors Elite Guard and you'll be pleased to know that although His Highness was injured, he is still alive and well having assisted in the capture of the assassin which, despite popular opinion, isn't Tor."
Chalotta said calmly, "And you expect me to believe that after he killed more of my crew?"
Broden responded honestly, "No I don't, but you will. At this moment in time I'm the only person standing between you and these gentlemen, who would like to have a quiet word with you about allowing His Highness to run off and do dangerous things."
She regarded the heavily armed Mohrabas warriors as keenly at they disregarded her. A few low growls from the captain and she felt the troop were having a quiet laugh from their expressions and furtive smiles. The leader of the six fixed her with a long hard stare.
Chalotta said strongly, "That would be an act of war!"
Broden appeared to consider this and replied, "No, I don't think so. It may have escaped your notice, so let me assure you, they out gun us. If they wanted to start a war it would last a few brief Mizuras at best." He sighed and then continued, "With everything that's been going on, I can understand if you don't trust me. All I ask if for some time to deliver the assassin to the Mohrabas and gather all the relevant data so we can present it to you and the other Station Commanders. Then you shall see who's guilty and who's innocent."
Chalotta looked at Broden with disdain at his apparent reasonableness and knew in that brief moment her only real option was to concede rather than argue, "Very well, but Tor and this assassin stay here until we've seen the evidence."
Broden shook his head, "Something that wasn't made clear to you is that our friends here get first shout. Since the death of the Ambassador we've been living on borrowed time. Both the captive and Tor now get to travel to the planet and one of them will be executed. The other one gets to come home."
Chalotta remembered the conversation with Tor and how he seemed anxious that someone needed to visit the homeworld. She said hesitantly, "He."
Broden knew what she was going to say and cut in, "Yeah, apparently you sort of volunteered to take his place after arresting him. Now there's a touch of irony. If you hadn't arrested him then the assassin might not have shown himself, in which case Tor would have had to go to the planet alone and answer for the death of the Ambassador." He paused for a moment and then added, "In which case I thank you for your part in helping us find the guilty man."
Chalotta sensed a touch of sincerity in Brodens tone but was still skeptical. She felt she had been kept in the dark and was suspicious that Broden had not told her everything that he knew.
Storral commented from the screen, "Orders Commander?"
edited...
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