10 ASSASSINATED
Troy smiled back at Emilie and said, “That’s a great pet name!”
Emilie seemed offended and she asked, “Are you referring to Sniffles as a pet or anything like that?”
Troy immediately pleaded his innocence, “No! No! No! No! What I meant is that it’s a great pet name, like the name they are affectionately called in the family!”
Emilie’s face had lost that cuteness, staring angrily at Troy and asked, “Is that right?”
“Yes!” Troy shot back the answer, without a moment’s delay. “Which brings us to the next question, what’s his official name?”
“Sniffles!” Emilie fired back the quick reply.
“What?” Troy nearly shouted.
“What’s wrong with that name?” asked Emilie.
“It doesn’t sound official, Emilie!”
“I want his life to be innocent as his name, Troy, unlike that of his parents, something as innocent as a sniffle.”
Troy gave a brooding look and nodded.
“So what really happened to Aura?” he asked.
“The worst,” answered Emilie. “They were there, Troy! Just a few hours ago! They mercilessly killed every one of Sniffles’ kind!”
“While we were busy fighting a civil war,” commented Troy.
“What happens next?” asked Emilie.
“I wish I knew the person who knows that!” said Troy, grinning at her.
Emilie flashed a quick smile.
“I am worried about little Sniffles here! I don’t know how he’s gonna react when he wakes up, Troy!”
said Emilie.
“I think I should handle when he’s about to wake up! He might hurt you!”
Emilie smiled at Troy in return and he knew that smile meant he better shut up.
“About the time in my cabin-” said Troy slowly, alluding to the time Emilie had kissed him in his room.
“You’re not ready yet, Troy!” said Emilie, casting a sad smile at him.
“Right,” Troy said, having no idea about what she was talking about.
“We’re due in two minutes!” announced Kru through their transmitters.
“Great,” said Troy, as he got up from the bed.
“Look Troy!” exclaimed Emilie suddenly. “He’s getting up!”
“Uh oh!” said Troy, freezing where he stood, as Sniffles started moving around, squeezing his eyes and flailing his arms.
“Hey baby!” said Emilie, cuddling Sniffles and making smile in his drowsy state.
“Mmmmma!” Sniffles said, drooling.
“Did you hear that?” Emilie almost screamed with excitement.
“What?” asked Troy, taken aback by surprise.
“Sniffles spoke!”
“It can speak?” asked Troy with a dirty look at Sniffles.
Emilie stared at him at which Troy backed down and said, “He can speak?”
“Yes,” replied Emilie.
“I’m sorry!” said Troy.
Emilie didn’t reply and turned slightly away from him.
“I said I’m sorry, Emilie!”
“You can apologize to him when he’s fully awake!” Emilie said, looking at Sniffles.
“TO HIM?” cried Troy.
“In my presence!” said Emilie in a firm tone.
“EMILIE!” exclaimed Troy, spreading his arms.
“He’s a child, Troy!” said Emilie. “How can you say like that?”
“I don’t know! It looks like one big hairy animal!” said Troy, grinning, trying to cool down the situation and then he noticed Emilie, staring at him even more angrily.
“I better get out now!” he said.
“You better, mister!” warned Emilie, as her stare got even harder. Troy turned around quickly and walked out of the quarters.
“Hey!” said Holloway, who was coming towards him from the Command centre. “How are Emilie
and the baby?”
Troy threw his thumb over his shoulder, in the direction of the refugee quarters.
“What happened?” asked Holloway suspiciously. “Why are you acting so-”
“Whatever you do, don’t mention that baby as an it! It drives her nuts!” said Troy.
Holloway sniggered and started towards the quarters, as Kru caught up with them.
“Where’s Emilie and the-the-the baby?” he stammered.
“I’ll bring them, you two go on!” said Holloway, as she kept walking.
“Tsokay,” said Kru, as Troy put a hand on his shoulder, leading him away.
The two emerged out into the Cruiser bay, aboard the Orion Swift. There was quite gathering of about forty Albeins and a few Keplers outside their Cruiser, apparently waiting for them.
“What the?” said Troy.
Kru just stared at them. Troy nudged him back and hissed, “What are they doing?”
“Who knows?” answered Kru.
They kept standing silently until one Albein from the crowd, asked,
“Did you find anything?”
Troy and Kru exchanged glances at each other and was unsure of what to answer.
“Well-” began Troy.
“We found a baby!” said Emilie, as he brushed and made way between Troy and Kru, carrying Sniffles wrapped completely in a white towel.
“Clear the way!” shouted Holloway, who was behind Emilie. Then onto her transmitter, she muttered, “Requesting security force to escort rescue team and Aurean refugee!”
Within a minute, a droid force of ten was at their location in the Cruiser bay to escort them. The droids formed a formation around the five and escorted them to Security headquarters on level twenty-one. They entered it and were stopped at the reception.
An Albein woman was in charge over there. It was the same woman who had allocated cabins to Troy and the rest of the Keplers on the day they were rescued. She was flanked by three officers on her either side, all of them standing at ease in front of the reception desk.
“Welcome back!” she said. “I am Major Ann, Head of Security. Now if you don’t mind we have to clear you all and especially your refugee before you can meet the Senate.”
“Why? What happened?” asked Holloway.
“You’ll know shortly, ma’am!” Ann said, as she turned to direct her officers. “Please do as my officers tell you!” and she left them and went inside the office on her left.
“Quinto’s been replaced?” hissed Kru to Holloway.
“I think Jedias has been very busy,” said Holloway.
“Follow me,” said a young man of about thirty, dressed in a red suit with the Albein emblem shining on his left breast pocket.
“Please hand over the refugee, before you move on!” said another official, also dressed in red. Emilie seemed hesitant in giving Sniffles to the woman, but Holloway assured her, after which Emilie gave Sniffles, who was still sleeping, over to the official.
The official took him in her arms and joined behind them. They were led into a small passage that led away from the reception on their left. The passage opened onto a very large space, where many more security officials were present and many were present with arms.
“Hand over any weapons and any personal tech that you possess now,” said the young official, standing apart from the file.
Troy, who was at the head of the party, took out the Palser attached to his waist belt and the transmitter, out of his ear and handed them over.
“You can proceed now!” said the official, who promptly put them a box and gave it to another official standing close by. Troy went ahead and he saw another security official waiting for him, beside what seemed to be a hole on a wall. Troy reached, stood in front of the hole and looked at him.
“Please stand aside, sir,” said the young female official politely, as she turned to the wall, which came alive at her voice. The entire wall surrounding the manhole was suddenly filled with information.
“Mr. Troy Dylan Zander? Is that right?” asked the official.
“Yeah!” replied Troy, who was wondering about all this.
“Tsokay!” said the official and typed in his name. Then, out of the hole, slowly came out a plain stretcher. The official walked towards Troy and touched his chest with a black glove that she was wearing. The nano bots quickly reassembled from across Troy’s body on her glove and formed a cube, leaving Troy in his bionic white underwear.
“Now lie on it, sir,” said the young woman, pointing towards the stretcher.
“What’s going on?” asked Troy, going pink in his ears.
“We’re just checking if you are who you say are. This is a Signature Circuit, it maps everything that you are and compares it if needed with earlier data. It shouldn’t even take two minutes, sir.”
“Alright!” said Troy and jumped on the floating stretcher. The woman smiled and turned to the wall and started the protocol.
The stretcher went slowly back inside the hole. Though it was pitch dark inside Troy could see that he had entered a large area, where robotic arms shot out grabbing his arms and limbs. An AI’s voice repeated itself and again.
“Please try and relax, sir.”
Then a robotic arm fixed with a soft binocular pad covered over Troy’s eyes and he felt his body go warm, cosy warmth as a strong blue light scanned his body. Then the stretcher moved even further into the darkness where Troy started feeling a little funny, as if he were being massaged all over and then the stretcher made out of the hole, where the official was waiting with a pair of clothes and she said, “Thank you, sir, for your cooperation and patience!”
Emilie, Holloway and Kru were waiting there and Troy grabbed the clothes on seeing Emilie and ran towards the dressing area, nearby.
He dressed up in the light blue suit and pants and emerged out of the dressing room, where another female official was waiting outside.
“Please follow me, sir!” she said.
Troy followed her into a waiting room, where he sat in one of the floating chairs. Soon he was joined by Kru, Holloway and Emilie who arrived within five minutes of each other.
“So any of you guessing what’s going on?” asked Holloway but before anyone could reply, Jedias walked in, flanked by Rutgers and Major Ann.
“Seems that after all, the humans did survive!” said Jedias.
“The results are back?” asked Emilie frantically.
“Yes!” replied Jedias. “It’s confirmed the Aurean refugee is of human descent and is in good health.”
“Thank goodness!” muttered Emilie under her breath.
“Mr. Troy,” said Jedias, looking at him.
“Chancellor,” replied Troy.
“Your popularity has been growing exponentially among the three thousand Albeins aboard the Orion Swift by every second!”
“It was never my intention-”
“Now, my boy!” interrupted Jedias. “Don’t trouble yourself! We need people like you in times like these!”
Troy just nodded his head in return.
“Now, as young as you are, we think you all have had enough of risking your lives-” said Jedias.
“But, sir-” protested Kru but Jedias put his hand on his shoulder and looked at him as if he wanted Kru to listen and let him do the talking.
Kru looked disappointed at not being able to give his opinion and he had calmed down, Jedias looked at the rest and spoke, “As I was telling, as young as you are, you’ve had enough of putting your lives on the edge. As you can see now, we’ve got everything under order, thanks to you four-”
“So Chancellor, you’re plainly trying to tell us to sit in our cabins quietly?” interrupted Holloway, looking annoyed.
“Well! In a way yes!” said Jedias. “This is no job for youngsters like you! Had you done what you had done back on our planets, you all would have been seriously censured!”
“But the threat is still out there, sir,” said Troy.
“Which is why you should leave this to adults like us,” said Jedias, with the great patience that is only showcased by some, as the four looked at each other. “Now if you please, all of you can go back to your cabins.”
“What about Sniffles?” asked Emilie out of the blue.
“Who?” asked Jedias, confused.
“The Aurean,” said Troy, who looked totally depressed by the way Jedias had spoken.
“Ah! He’ll remain under observation for forty six hours in the medical bay and then a decision will be taken as to where he would be kept,” said Jedias.
“He’s not an animal to be kept anywhere!” said Emilie bitterly.
“You can leave that worry to us, Ms. Fox,” said Jedias, turning back from the four.
“When did he turn into such an A-hole?” hissed Holloway.
“Well, Rutgers, are you coming?” asked Jedias.
“In a moment, sir!” replied Rutgers.
Jedias replied, “Umph!” and made out of the room along with Ann.
After Jedias had gone out, Rutgers pulled the four together for a secret conversation.
“Jedias has been cracking his whip ever he since got into power, guys,” said Rutgers. “Everything is alright now, you shouldn’t worry!”
“Something’s amiss, uncle,” said Kru, looking intently at Rutgers.
Rutgers looked back at him guiltily and said, “Nothing’s like that, son! It’s only for your own good!
Look at the security measures and all, it’s enough proof!”
“Of what?” shot back Troy.
“Of better administration!” said Rutgers.
“I don’t think so!” said Troy.
“What did you say?” said Rutgers.
“I think something’s happened,” said Troy.
Emilie, Kru and Holloway looked at Troy surprised as Rutgers turned pale.
“What is it, uncle?” asked Kru.
“I can’t involve you all again!” exclaimed Rutgers.
“With all respect, sir! I don’t think we can be more involved than this!” said Holloway.
“Norman has been assassinated in her cell,” said Rutgers.
“Norman was killed?” said Troy, taking a step back.
“What the hell?” gasped Holloway.
“Who?” asked Kru, his eyes wide open.
“That’s the part, I don’t like, we don’t know who?” revealed Rutgers, dabbing his huge forehead with the back of his hand.
“When did this happen?” asked Emilie.
“Right after you had left for Aura,” replied Rutgers.
“What did the death report say?” asked Holloway.
“She was killed by internal bleeding,” said Rutgers.
“What?” exclaimed Kru. “Did she die from the injuries she suffered when we extracted her?”
“No!” said Rutgers. “Her killer cut her aorta open from the inside!”
“The big artery that comes out from top of the heart?” asked Holloway, touching her own chest.
“Yes!” said Rutgers.
“How’s that even possible?” asked Troy.
“Are you sure about that?” asked Emilie.
“Yes, the autopsy showed a clear surgical cut across the aorta,” said Rutgers.
“An internal cut without an external one,” muttered Kru.
“There must be a killer onboard!” said Emilie.
“That’s why you kids must do as Jedias tells you to!” said Rutgers.
“We have to find out who it is!” said Troy.
“No!” said Rutgers. “I told you so that you would step aside and let the concerned authorities handle this!”
“But-” protested Holloway.
“Now everyone!” said Rutgers firmly. “To your cabins now!”
Dejectedly, the four turned and went out of the waiting room, followed by Rutgers.
“Who do you think it is?” whispered Holloway, on the way back.
“I don’t know!” muttered Kru nervously.