Solarius station stood against the backdrop of one of the more hostile areas of space in Sirius. Sheltered from random radiation storms by the Planet Solarius, the station was the sole safe harbour in the area. As such it attracted some of the more unsavoury elements to it. The black market thrived here, and most of the station officials turned blind eyes to the problem. It was easier that way, and far more profitable.
Anja stood by her Phantom in the main docking bay. Every time she came here she was taken aback at the state of the place. Engines, hull panels, wiring, instruments, everything was strewn about the area, finished off with a thin coat of oil, or grease, or something which glistened under the glow of the lighting. She could just about make out a path through the chaos, heading towards the main promenade. Carefully stepping over a mass of electrical cabling that seemed to be covered in something organic, she headed in that direction.
As she approached the entranceway to the main promenade she caught sight of a small group towards the far end of the docking bay. They were being unceremoniously forced through a set of doors. Slaves. She knew that straight away, and where there were slaves, there were slavers with information.The Omega slavers kept a close eye on the police, a scrutiny returned in full, and if Maynard had made his way through Solarius, they would know of it. She changed directions, heading for the doors herself as they closed. If the slavers offered her no information, there were always the Bounty Hunters that used Solarius as a base of operations. She shuddered slightly at the thought. They were, in many ways, worse than the slavers.
The doors she approached were heavily dented with numerous patches of rust. Obviously designed to look unused, the hinges, well greased and rust free, gave away their usage. Reaching forth she gently pulled one door open and slid through the gap. The metallic cylinder that pressed into the base of her skull stopped her.
'An' 'ere ah wuz a'thankin' we'd dun awready cum te an agreement 'bout this 'ere kinda thang, me darlin',' drawled a voice in her ear. A single bead of sweat trickled down her forehead. She slowly raised her hands, fully aware that any unexpected movement could easily end her life.
William Wainwright sniffed gently at the neck of the policewoman before him. A shiver thrilled down his spine as her perfume filled his lungs. There was something about this one that captivated him. To have the nerve to brazenly walk into his part of Solarius!
'Y'awl jus' walk on ahead o' me, eh. Ah's'a hopin' yew aint gunna be daft enuff te be turnin' around te try'n be gettin' a look at meh. Ah won't be likin' that, an' ah kin tells yew, y'awl won' be likin' it neither.'
Anja moved carefully forward, Wainwright close behind.They passed through several corridors, all empty, before she was forced into a room. She turned as she heard the door locking behind her, but she was alone. The room was small, with a single chair in its centre. The chair faced a large mirrored wall. It was a room Anja recognised, there were many of them in police stations across Rheinland. She walked around her small enclosure, examining the walls, resisting the urge to just sit and wait. She pressed her face up against the mirror, hoping to get a glimpse of movement behind what she was certain was a one way glass. On hearing the electric crackle of speakers she stepped back, and sat calmly on the waiting chair.
'Weeell, ah kin sees yew's'a bin gettin' aquainted wi' mah li'l interviewin' room, gurlie. Ah kin assure yew tha' yew aint gunna see nuttin' threw tha' windie though. Now's as we's awl safe an' secure, why don' y'awl tell me whut yew's'a thankin', stealin' inte mah li'l bit o' paradise, eh?'
Wainwright sat back easily in his chair. He knew why this one was here. Only a week ago, a senior officer had turned up looking for passage into the deep Omegas. It wasn't often he had members of the federal police asking him for favours, but the fifty thousand credits had persuaded him to take the risk. The officer, one Peter Maynard, had said that this woman might appear. A detektiv, and a handsome on at that. He smiled broadly as the shiver returned. Now all he had to do was to figure out what to do with her. That was a thought process he was enjoying immensely...............
Anja took her time to respond. The man questioning her was obviously Libertonian, and she wracked her memory trying to place who he might be. Drawing a blank, she responded.
'My name is Detektiv Anja Goske of the Rheinland Federal Polizei. You are holding me in breach of all Rheinland laws. You will release me immediately, and surrender yourself into my custody for...'
Anja's speech was interrupted by a deafening klaxon sounding in the small room. She clamped her hands to her ears in an attempt to protect them. The klaxon stopped, and Anja slowly removed her hands, her ears ringing. There were a few seconds silence before the man's voice can through the speakers.
'Now, as y'awl kin be tellin' ah aint in no mood te be lissnin' te no confrontational 'Ah's'a gunna arrest yew if'n yew don' surrender' junk, yew unnerstan' me gurl? Don' speak, jus' nod yer head.' Anja sighed and nodded.
'So, ah aint inner'sted in who yew are, eh. Ah's'a knowin' that awready, an' t'aint whut ah askt yew. Ah's'a wantin' te know whut y'awls'a doin' 'ere. Don' play with me, gurl. Ah's'll no be 'preciative o' it.'
Anja bowed her head, taking a few seconds to think. Whatever was happening here, she had to find out what these people knew about Maynard. She decided a little honesty was in order.
'Very well, I am investigating the disappearance of Oberst Peter Maynard. A stolen shuttle, believed to have been piloted by Oberst Maynard was found here, on Solarius, last week. Given that you sla..... people in your line of work like to keep abreast of all unusual comings and goings on this station, it was my intent to make contact and find out if you knew anything. Obviously the making contact part has gone somewhat awry from my point of view. As for the information, well, that's down to you I suppose.'
There was silence. Anja looked directly at the mirror in front of her. She shrugged slightly, unsure what she might say next.
Wainwight sat in slightly stunned silence. Of all the things he might have expected the woman to say, the truth was right at the bottom of the list. He'd been looking forward to the banter, the to-ing and fro-ing that eventually led to a veiled truth actually being delivered. He
'Ah's'a dun heard many thangs, an' a fair amount o' them dun come frum the lips o' yew lawmen, but ah kin tells yew, shure as ah's mah mamma's favourite an' only son, ah aint never once heard the truth so simply put. Ah's'a mighty obliged te yew, an' no mistake. We kinda gets used te awl sorts o' lies in mah business. Ah's of a mind te repay yer honesty in kind, an' ah kin tells yew, tha's no mean feat on yer part, gurl. Furst up, yew git mah name. Yew's talkin' te William Wainwright.'
Anja's eyes widened slightly at the name.
'Aye, ah kin sees y'awl knows 'bout meh. Ah's the feller wanted fer breakin' 'is cousin outta Vierlande awl them years back. Ah aint pretendin' te be no mas'er criminal, an' ah aint lookin' te be makin' the aquaitance o' no more o' youse lawmen, neither. So yer gunna git whut yew came fer, an' ah's gunna be hopin' y'awl's gunna keep yer mouth shut 'bout our little meetin' 'ere. Tha' sound good te yew?'
Anja nodded quickly.
'Y'awl knows when te keep yer mouth shut an' awl, ah sees. Ah's'a likin' yew more by the minute, gurl, ah shurely am. So, yer Maynard feller, yew's right tha' he passt threw 'ere a whiles back. Fact is 'e came te me 'imself, an' paid meh a sum fer passage through to Freeport 5 in Omega-41. Frum there ah arranged fer 'im te take possession o' a smawl vessel, one manned kinda thang. Ah aint gut no clue where 'e were headed frum there. So, yew knows whut ah knows now. Whut yew do wi' it aint mah business, an' ah don' want it te be neither, y'hear?' Again, Anja nodded briefly. 'Good. Y'awl kin be standin' yersel' up now, missy. Time fer yew te be leavin', eh.'
Anja stood and moved to the locked door. The door soon swung open, revealing what was, probably, the ugliest man she had ever set eyes upon. She blinked. The mouth of the face in front of her creased in a grin, and the face transformed from ugly to sinister.
'Y'awl's dun sin the face o' the enemy now, gurl. Hah!' Wainwright barked a laugh. 'Ah aint sin a look o' shock like's on yer face since mah cuzin Sally-Ann dun woked up nekid in the hen coop!'
Anja's mouth worked silently for a few seconds. She was at a loss for words.
'Y'awl jus' head on trew tha' door rite o'er thar, eh gurl. We's dun 'ere, so we are.' Wainwright's head swooped in close as he nodded the direction he expected her to leave. 'Yew don' wanna be comin' back this way no time soon, gurl. Ah's dun yew a favour this time aroun'. Don' be 'spectin' the same if'n ah sees yew agin.'
As he moved back, Anja shuddered at the implied threat, under no illusions that her life was inconsequential to the man in front of her.
'I understand, Herr Wainwright,' she said. After a moments thought she held out her hand to him. 'I thank you for the information.'
The hand the took hers was cold, and slightly clammy. A sharp tug launched her in the direction of the door, and she exited without a backward glance.
Anja headed directly for her Phantom, eager to put distance between herself and Solarius. Within half an hour she was skimming the edges of the asteroid field that marked the path to the jump gate back to Stuttgart. She would need to prepare for a trip to the Freeport in Omega-41. She would, she knew, have to book some leave to further pursue her mentor.
As she opened a link through to the central offices on New Berlin, warning lights started flashing. A vessel had been detected on intercept course. Quickly scanning the ship brought up data on a military Wraith. It was soon in comms range, and a channel opened.
'Officer Goske, this is Major Vardogr of the Rheinwehr. I am in pursuit of a Hessian sympathiser who has succeed in stealing some extremely sensitive documents. May I count on your assistance?'
'Of course, Major. I am at your disposal.'
'Thank you, officer Goske. This is a highly dangerous individual and you will tip the odds in our favour. We are heading for sector Beta three, vector seven, seven, four. We will have to fly in radio silence from here. The target is one Hans Eckhard, formerly of the MND. We will break silence only once our target has been located. I suggest you download data on him to peruse whilst we pursue. Let us hope the intelligence we have received is correct.'
'Understood Major. I will follow your lead. Initiating communications silence.'
Anja terminated the comms link, and swung her Phantom into tight formation with the military vessel. She turned to her data terminal and requested all information on Hans Eckhard. Data transfers of this kind usually took some time, so she settled back as they headed for one of the remoter areas of Omega-11. An hour later a data link uploaded information on Hans Eckhard to her terminal. What little data there was proved interesting reading. The possibility of a ten million credit bounty for the capture of the agent set her heart racing.
A contact was suddenly registered on her long distance scans. Approximately fourteen clicks distant, and closing. The comm channel to Major Vardogr re-opened at that precise moment.
'Officer Goske, we have our target. Break to a distance of two thousand meters. We will shepherd this one if we have to.'
She moved her vessel as requested, while the distance to the target rapidly fell. She soon spotted faint laser fire.
'Major! It looks like Herr Eckhard has been waylaid. I can see weapons fire.'
'Confirmed. He's spotted us as well! He's running. Do not let him escape us, officer!'
Their two ships raced into the vicinity of the fleeing Wraith. The wreckage of a Daumann patrol was scattered across the area, with no sign of surviving escape pods.
Warning lights flashed across her displays.
'Major! I'm picking up some wild energy fluctuations about eight clicks ahead. He's heading right for it.'
'Copy that, officer. Maintain the pursuit. What you are detecting is an unstable jump hole. We should have a surprise for him on the other side. Do not falter, officer. There is more at stake here than you know!'
Hans Eckhard's vessel disappeared from view as it hit the jump hole, soon followed by Major Vardogr's Wraith. Anja paused for a few seconds, undecided, then entered the wormhole. Space warped around her, twisting her stomach into knots. Vivid light spiralled and darted across her vision, a myriad colours that made her head spin. Her engines shrilled before she was thrown forward in her seat, and space began to resolve itself around her. Stars became visible, then an asteroid field bathed in a ghostly orange glow. She glanced at her scanner display. There was Vardogr's vessel, as well as the Wraith of the fugitive. She gasped as she took in the third vessel stationed fourteen hundred meters of her port side. The massive, armoured flanks of a Rheinland military Cruiser took on a sickly sheen in the light. Her scanning arrays displayed data on the vessel and a cold dread spread through her. She was in the presence of the Heilige Eins.
Her life, as she knew it, would end here..................................
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