《Triton: Space Station 339》


 Real People Don鈥檛 Come Here

    You know what really I hate about this place?


    It¡¯s not the fact we¡¯re on the edge of the galaxy, or that we¡¯ve become the most forgotten colony humanity has ever pushed out here, it¡¯s the fact that, real people¨C¨Cthe ones with great jobs, living comfortably and raising families¡ªthey simply don¡¯t come here. Not anymore that is, and none have actually shown up for a very, very long time. Well, maybe that¡¯s a good thing, I suppose. I¡¯ve been a cop on this station for nearly ten years. That¡¯s ten years of having to deal with every kind of low life, perverted scum bag and criminal element one could ever possibly run into on this station.


    Triton used to be a mining asteroid, believe it or not. A goldmine of rich deposits of Quadarium, a mineral no ship engine can be without, for two and a half centuries. It replaced the now defunct Quantum Magnetic Drive, as it requires less uncertainty in folding space, and makes for a much smaller engine. Quadarium is in everything these days, from small fighter ships to coffee makers. Yeah, you heard me right¡­ coffee makers. That¡¯s how little it takes to run something indefinitely. You might not need to fold space to make coffee, but you wouldn¡¯t believe how crazed someone can get if it doesn¡¯t work so they can get their quick fix in the morning.


    That being said, the mining here ended a long time ago. They managed to rip out every single gram of the stuff from this lifeless rock and now¨C¨Cit¡¯s just a floating stop-over gas station for the entire galaxy. There¡¯s nothing left here. Those that stayed tried to make the best of it. Though, I don¡¯t know why they did. Mafia bosses and former drug dealers that supplied the mining crew were left behind and continued their operations well after the place ran dry. Half of them couldn¡¯t afford the travel back to Earth-space, the other half decided to use this place as the perfect smuggling destination.


    It¡¯s not all crime and prostitution here, though. There are some legit businesses going on; outbound mining companies, the Earth Core United Interplanetary diplomatic office and spaceports, and of course, lots and lots of shipping and trade ports for various colonies. But when you get all that combined in one place, with desperate people doing desperate things, that¡¯s when we, the Triton Space station Authority, have to do our due diligence. The people here still refer to us as the police, or cops, even though that¡¯s an outdated term. But I suppose it¡¯s accurate enough. Heck, even I and the other officers keep calling ourselves that.


    We¡¯re more like security for the station though, that¡¯s what it really is, let¡¯s not kid ourselves here. We don¡¯t patrol the outer surrounding station area in black and white shuttles or anything, we¡¯re more restricted to the inner station business and keep the peace for all living inside of it. ¡°Our budget,¡± as the chief would say, ¡°is one of the most tightly closed anus of all the outlying space stations.¡±


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    Yeah, I would agree with that. My salary is not something I would take pride in. I barely make enough to survive the overpriced food and living expenses on this heap of rock. The occasional kick back, for many of us authoritative figures, is not uncommon. We¡¯re not immune to being slipped something to look the other way for a few moments, if it doesn¡¯t endanger the public or get reported by the civilians. We¡¯re only human, after-all. And yes, I have been known to let a few items slip by when colonies need discretion or have certain interesting goods that might benefit myself, of course. It¡¯s all about the survival here, even for us cops.


    Because of my certain lifestyle, or lack thereof, I¡¯ve never really settled down with anyone. I¡¯m a bachelor by choice and live by my own rules. I¡¯ve entertained a few women in my day, including a few fellow officer gals who didn¡¯t mind just the occasional hook up once and awhile, and I don¡¯t feel the need to be that one-woman-guy. Some on the force feel the need to experiment in their sexuality, with various genders or complicated individuals of personal erotic nature, whatever their freak-on is about. I¡¯m not one of those, not by a long shot. I don¡¯t judge though, I just don¡¯t do that, they have their way and I¡¯ve got mine. No harm, no foul¡­ that¡¯s what I say.


    So, after being here for ten years, in all of this, and with all of that going on as well, my life is pretty abysmal. But, what can you do. This is a way of life on Triton station. You either accept it, or blow your goddamn brains out and get it over with already. And trust me, I¡¯ve seen plenty of that. Out of the five hundred sixty-two officers assigned here, nearly fifty-five have either taken their lives, by way of a gun or opening a airlock door and stepping out. Those are the quitters, as we call them. Taking the easy way out instead of focusing on the job and filling your empty hours with sex and booze.


    It¡¯s amazing what a little drunken sex can do for ya here. Anyway, that¡¯s just my little rant about good ol¡¯ space station Triton three-three-nine. Just wanted you to know that as I make this vid-recording of my personal life. You know, it kind of helps to talk about it, Even though I know nobody will ever actually view this. Maybe when I die, perhaps, but¡­ nah, not even then, I think. So why do it all, eh? Well, maybe for my own mental health and for historians to laugh about as they comb through the endless slog of what happened on this station. I¡¯m guessing at this point. I doubt historians would focus their attention on someplace of little historic value.


    Well, fuck it¨C¨CI¡¯m going to give the lowdown about this place anyway. I¡¯ve got nothing better to do and this has become my hobby. Deal with it. Let¡¯s give you the grand tour of this hell hole, sorry, I mean, the future of humanity as they so proudly adorned it. Seriously, they made banners and everything. There¡¯s even a t-shirt shop still selling them by the gross on a daily basis. I have a few myself. They¡¯re comfy okay? Don¡¯t judge me, assholes.

 The Future of Humanity鈥擳oday!

    My day of patrol is pretty average. I walk up and down several sections, there¡¯s about forty-two levels we rotate them daily as not to get bored. Of course, boredom here is never really a problem. For every second, seventy-five robberies are being committed, thirty homicides are occurring, and twenty-two illegal operations are underway in several main shipping hangars. The gangs and mafia crime rings are keeping busy as always. The worst offences are the ones trafficking children and genetically engineered humans, you don¡¯t want to know about that seedy environment. It makes me sick. Some days I just want to eject those bastards into space. That¡¯s not to say others on the force haven¡¯t, or so I¡¯ve heard.


    As I cruise around with my partner of five years, Raven Salak, a nice looking dark-haired woman of thirty-three; whom I have had sex with at least one time (and that¡¯s all), we casually checked in with the small business owners of the levels and inspected the odd perp we felt needed to be randomly frisked. These lower levels were often very long and narrow. Typically, they had the cream of the crop of scum living here. The upper sections, where the ships docked and the more of the upper-crust kind of humanity resided, wasn¡¯t as over ridden with low-life¡¯s as this. Down here, you had to watch your back at all times. Keeping two officers assigned was an absolute must. Going alone meant certain death. At least with two, you had a better chance of not being offed by some strung out dead-beat.


    ¡°The future of humanity¨C¨Ctoday!¡± A calm, relaxed female voice announced over the confined promenade area. ¡°Triton space station is your gateway to a better tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Jesus,¡± I thought. ¡°Ten years and still nobody knows how to stop that ad from repeating over the speakers.¡±


    I didn¡¯t realize I said it aloud. My partner laughed and agreed with me.


    ¡°Every time we com here, the same ol¡¯ argument.¡± She said. ¡°You¡¯ve got to get a new script, dude.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m just stating a fact.¡± I said, glaring at her. ¡°Nobody has attempted to go find the program and shut it down. You can¡¯t tell me that doesn¡¯t bother you every single time.¡±


    Raven shrugged. ¡°Sure it does. But I¡¯m not going to bitch on and on about it, does no good. I¡¯ve learned to accept it as part of the underlying charm of... uh... what¡¯s this level again?¡±


    ¡°Fifteen...¡± I replied, giving a slight snicker. ¡°Come on, you don¡¯t know where we are? This is the only level that has that woman spouting off that old slogan.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t make it a point to remember.¡± She chuckled. ¡°Or care about, for that matter. It¡¯s all the same. You¡¯d have to get to the thirtieth floor to even see something remotely clean in some regard.¡±


    She was right. The cleanliness was a far cry from being on those upper sections. You could just feel the scuzziness traipsing through this place. And the smell... fuck me! Yeah, it stinks. We¡¯ve all grown accustomed to it, but some days, it surely does get overly rank.


    ¡°Did you hear about Marci?¡± Raven said, changing the subject.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I nodded. ¡°I heard she got one in the skull on night-shift.¡±


    ¡°Fuckers...¡± Raven snarled. ¡°She was almost due for retirement next week.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I glared as I waved to a shop owner, greeting me in return. ¡°She was retiring? Damn, she¡¯s only forty-seven.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but, I guess after her mother died back on Earth, and her getting the inheritance, she decided it was enough to get a ticket out of here.¡±


    ¡°Woof!¡± I stated, giving a look of disbelief. ¡°Talk about fate being way too literal in that regard. A ticket out is a ticket out alright.¡±


    Raven took a moment to scan her wrist communicator. The floating holographic screen gave her an update on the latest reports and any crime alerts that might come through. It surprised her to see it so light today; only seventeen arrests, twenty theft call-ins, and one gang attack that left seven civilians dead. She showed me the stats, and I raised by brows.


    ¡°Wow, is it a holiday or something?¡± I mused. ¡°Guess they¡¯re not in the mood for some shit today.¡±


    She laughed. ¡°I guess so.¡±


    No sooner as we had just said that, when a large explosion ripped through a building three blocks away. The plume of smoke rushed past us and caused us to cough uncontrollably. Thank you karma, always nice to see you again.


    ¡°What the fuck?¡± Raven stated, grabbing her side arm and running towards the blast area.


    ¡°Wait,¡± I yelled at her, coughing and trying to catch up. ¡°Wait a second, Raven!¡±


    She was gone into the smoke before I could even join her. I struggled to pull my weapon out the holster as I sprinted along. Hell of a time for my pulse-rifle to get lodged in my pants belt loop. I continued to tug it free as I ran fast. I could almost make out her shape in front of me... oh, wait, no... that¡¯s just some asshole in the way. I shouted at the dork, gawking at me as if he didn¡¯t know who I was. Probably just shell shock, or just a typical slack-jawed idiot waking from his drug-induced coma. Either way, I shoved him aside and leapt over some debris.


    I continued to call out for Raven. She didn¡¯t answer me. I leapt over more large chunks of smouldering debris (god I hoped it wasn¡¯t bodies), and finally approached the centre of the blast site. Raven was there, gun poised and looking shocked at what it was. I joined her in that shock. Sitting there, like a misplaced boulder, was a ship. A slender-streamlined silver ship that punctured through several levels from above and smacked down onto this one like a bomb.


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    Hundreds of people were slowly climbing out of the wreckage surrounding it. Some were putting themselves out from being on fire, others were screaming in pain from the trauma, and the friends or family living in that section were pulling out the dead, and wailing uncontrollably. It was total carnage. Looking up, we could see all the way up through the massive hole. It broke through thirty floors in total. Debris was still occasionally dropping and people could be seen hanging on for dear life on many of those sections.


    The station¡¯s alert clanged on and on over the speakers, and the sound of approaching medical units sirens blared away over the chaos of people and loud whining of metal fatigue. Raven was gobsmacked by it all. She continued to hold out her gun as if stuck in that position.


    ¡°Holy¡ª¡± Raven uttered.


    ¡°Well,¡± I said, holstering my gun playfully. ¡°At least that advertisement woman is finally off. I think that calls for us to take a break. Want to get a coffee?¡±


    <hr>


    To put your mind at ease¨C¨Cyes, we really did go get a coffee. Hey, coffee is a privilege out here, so get it when you can. But that was only after we helped salvage the wreckage, the vessel that decimated thirty some-odd floors. Raven seemed impressed that it survived so well, there wasn¡¯t a scratch on that thing. That silver ship was so sleek and mooth to the touch, I¡¯d swear it was like touching the best part of my ass. And yes, my ass is very smooth in parts, that you very much. Raven could vouch for that.


    The ship was big, sure, but not so much that we couldn¡¯t get a crane to haul it out of the devastation. It seemed odd to me, and to my partner as well, that it managed to go through so many levels and yet¡ªafter touching it, was still unblemished or missing pieces.I couldn¡¯t make out the markings, or the license plate for that matter. I had my scanner ready to give this guy one hell of a ticket. But, so far, nobody turned up. I had expected some rich bastard to suddenly appear and accuse us of damaging his ride. The med-staff tended to the wounded, and Raven, me and the other officers turning up for duty, aided in the retrieval of civilian casualties.


    Some lady hugged me and seemed overly grateful. I would discover later that she managed to reach into my back pocket and swiped my pay chip-card. That will teach me for carrying it around. But how else am I suppose to pay for overly priced coffee? They don¡¯t have implants here. No virtual system to use your eye or DNA sequencer to make things more secure. Well, the jokes on her, I didn¡¯t have much on there to begin with. Maybe just enough to get her a stick of gum or one candy from the economy brand vending machine. Enjoy, ya stupid bitch. Is that mean of me to say? Who cares. Like I said before, this is the lowest of the low living here. Sympathy is practically non-existent in this place.


    Speaking of which, I grew tired of digging for bodies. I hoisted up my belt and informed Raven that I was done. She seemed to agree and we let the others (who finally showed up¡­ late) have a crack at it. We proceed to get that coffee, like I said, and she paid for it. Cause¨C¨Cya know¨C¨CI lost mine.


    * * *


    ¡°Hey, Mike? What do you think that was all about anyway?¡±


    Raven and I were seated at a small table, just outside of the coffee shop. Larry¡¯s Damn Fine Grinds, to be exact. She glared at me as I slowly slurped my coffee. I wasn¡¯t sure how to respond. I was really enjoying that brew, I mean, it was damn fucking good. Larry didn¡¯t lie about that. But I could see that the whole crash scenario still bothered her. Guess it would be, seeing how we were only a few shops away from it. The teams of station personelle and medics doing all they can to free those poor trapped bastards.


    I mulled the question over in my mind for a bit, giving another long sip and seemingly looking pensive. Eventually, though, I gave her my answer.


    ¡°About what?¡±


    Yeah, that was a brilliant response. I could see her brow furl even as I took another long sip of my delicious cup of joy.


    ¡°About the fucking ship! You ass!¡± She gave my head a slight slap. I tried not to take it personally, or spit out my coffee in the process, but I looked back on the scene and nodded (as if I finally clued in).


    ¡°Oh right, that¡­ um¡­ well, I guess that is rather odd for here, isn¡¯t it?¡± I could almost feel another slap coming from her, so I decided to add more to that observation. ¡°I mean, what are the chances something like that happening? Those guys up in the docking bay are really slacking off.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that was their mistake.¡± She glared at me, with disbelief. ¡°I¡¯ll bet it crashed into the station, past the docking bays and straight down to here.¡±


    ¡°Uh, yeah¡­¡± I nodded. ¡°I think you might be right.¡±


    I glared back again, taking another long finishing swig of Larry¡¯s coffee, and agreed with her theory. It defiantly was possible. But, I had to point out the obvious to her.


    ¡°If that¡¯s true, why didn¡¯t the station alarm go off? You know, for collisions and mirco-meteor bombardments¡­¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s busted.¡± She shrugged. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t be a far stretch from the state of this place.¡±


    ¡°True that¡­¡± I agreed again. ¡°In any case, it¡¯s above our pay grade to think about the why or how¡­ we¡¯re just here to keep people from stealing stuff.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Mike¡­¡± She groaned. ¡°Don¡¯t you ever want to be more than some beat cop? Wouldn¡¯t you like to move up the ranks, get into some real police action, maybe become the station¡¯s top investigator?¡±


    ¡°Nope, not at all¡­¡± I quickly replied. ¡°That¡¯s the kind of stuff that can get you killed.¡±


    ¡°Just being cops can get us killed.¡± She stated back. ¡°Why would another title be any different?¡±


    ¡°Look,¡± I said, trying my best not to upset her with my typical earnestness. ¡°We get paid shit. And that¡¯s okay, cause everyone else here is in the same boat. Getting a bigger title, doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯ll get a greater scale of pay. So, you¡¯re doing more for less. If that¡¯s the case, you should remain where you are and just keep getting that crappy pay scale, and doing the minimum it allows for. Work smarter, not harder, that¡¯s my motto.¡±


    Raven groaned at my sense of laziness. She¡¯d had to deal with me for far too long. That¡¯s probably why we stopped having intimate encounters rather quickly. She knew I wasn¡¯t the guy for her. She liked a guy that could be the hero, the one leaping into danger and giving their all for the job and the ones they loved. Well, that defiantly wasn¡¯t me. I¡¯m not a hero seeker. I¡¯m not the guy willing to take a bullet to save you. I¡¯m just living my life, getting some money to survive, and sleeping in for as long as I can on my days off. I exist for just existing. Hm, maybe that¡¯s not the best way to phrase that. Uh, let¡¯s see¡­ I¡¯m¡­ just¡­ uh¡­ oh, fuck, whatever. You get the idea.


    ¡°You¡¯re some piece of work my friend.¡± Raven disappointedly mocked at me.


    ¡°Yep,¡± I said, giving a raise of my cup to Larry glaring at us from behind his bullet proof shop window. ¡°I¡¯m just here for the coffee.¡±


    ¡°So why be a cop then?¡± She said, giving the owner the hint as well with her cup as well. ¡°Why not just be a janitor or one of those dock-crew guys? Why would you bother to be part of the Triton Authority elite?¡±


    ¡°Because of two factors,¡± I said, leaning on the table with one arm. ¡°One, I get paid slightly better than either of those jobs, with benefits most would kill for. And two¡­¡±


    ¡°Shit,¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°Here it comes¡­¡±


    ¡°Women fucking love officers in uniform.¡± I waggled my brows. "They really, really do... ya know?"


    ¡°You¡¯re a pig, you know that?¡±


    ¡°Yep,¡± I nodded, giving the owner yet another strong indication I needed a refill, and grinned at her. ¡°A well fed, well paid pig at that. Oink! Oink!¡±


    The owner finally came out, refilled our cups, gave me the finger and stepped back inside.


    ¡°Yes indeed¡­¡± I snickered while taking a sip. ¡°It¡¯s good to be a Triton station cop.¡±

 Parking Violations

    So after our delightful break, Raven and I headed back to the crash scene and continued to help out in the effort. Yeah, okay, I made it sound like I didn¡¯t care earlier, sure¨C¨Cbut, I¡¯m not that cold hearted of a guy. Even though one lady managed to use that opportunity to rob me, I still had some sense of common decency to assist those that were generally hurt or dying. There were, however, other scum bags hanging about trying to do the same to the victims, especially when they were disoriented and not knowing which were the medical responders and who were just pretending to be one. I tell ya, this is why I have no faith in anyone on this station.


    I made sure those dirt bags weren¡¯t near any of those I assisted. I pointed to my gun and my badge the minute I saw a few sneaking up, trying act like they were overly concerned for the individuals, and asking to give them their valuables to hold on for safe keeping. They got the hint and took off just as fast as they came to ¡¯supposedly¡¯ help out. Raven finished assisting the last group of survivors and approached the big silver ship still stuck in the debris. She gave it few kicks with her foot (what good that was going to do, I wasn¡¯t sure), and glared at it with puzzled fascination.


    ¡°Is this thing even a ship?¡± Raven said to me as I came up beside her. ¡°Its smooth, very smooth¡­ but, I¡¯ve never seen something like this in the landing bays before.¡±


    ¡°Looks expensive.¡± I stated as I shrugged. ¡°Has to be some rich-dick¡¯s vessel. Maybe he was drunk and brought it in too fast.¡±


    She nodded at my half-ass assessment and continued to feel the surface. I grew impatient and gave a drawn out sigh. She immediately took note of my hint and scowled at me.


    ¡°Dude, really?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ve done our part, time for us to head back to HQ.¡±


    ¡°Come on, man!¡± She flared her eyes. ¡°This is major! Don¡¯t you want to know what the fuck this is? Why it crashed? Who it belongs too?¡±


    ¡°Nope¡­¡± I replied, still looking bored.


    ¡°Wow¡­¡± She said while shaking her head in disappointment and walking away from the thing. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you. This is the biggest event to happen on this station for some time, and you just wanna glaze over it?¡±


    ¡°Look, Raven,¡± I sighed, placing my thumbs in the loops of my belt. Seen a lot of cops do it in the movies. ¡°We¡¯re just routine beat patrol, not investigators. We come here, keep the peace as much as we¡¯re contractual obligated to do, and go home counting our blessings that today was the day we didn¡¯t end up dead, somehow, in some back alley.¡±


    ¡°Truly you are a conundrum, my friend.¡± She snickered. She looked at me, then the ship, then back at me and shrugged. ¡°Okay, well¡­ I guess you want to get back and go home, if that¡¯s what you really, really want.¡±


    ¡°Its not about what I want,¡± I stressed to her, giving a glare with a cocked brow. ¡°Its what the job is for us. We¡¯re just underpaid babysitters for the criminal element. We keep things nice and respectable, tell them when lights out is, and pat them on the head for not being too unruly for the day.¡±


    ¡°Holy fuck¡­¡± She replied, slowly stretching out the words. ¡°I¡¯m glad we¡¯re not a couple. I would have kicked your ass to the curb for such lofty ideologies. Probably explains why you¡¯re so damn single.¡±


    I laughed, giving her a slight nudge with my elbow to her shoulder and winked.


    ¡°See, you know me better than you think. Come on partner, let¡¯s go back, strip off these uniforms and grab us something tasty.¡±


    She couldn¡¯t help but belt out a laugh on that. Yeah, it was suggestive in its meaning, but she didn¡¯t seem to care. Raven loved that kind of witty talk from me, I was being playful and naughty. But I also know, that my chances of being with her in the sack were next to nil. We¡¯ve been down that road (and on that bed) once before, and there wasn¡¯t anything between us (other than the sheets). Raven shook her finger at me for being like that, and walked out of the debris with a smile on her face.


    Its kind of nice having a partner who gets your sense of humour. Someone that understands the twisted mindset of a lonely individual. Would we ever have sex again? No, I don¡¯t think so. She¡¯s talked about being with some other guy on the thirteenth level. He¡¯s a salesmen or something like that, I think. Must have really talked the talk to get into her laced panties. Lucky her, I say. I can¡¯t even get someone to smooth talk me enough to get into my stained and hole-ridden underpants for the life of me. Perhaps that¡¯s my problem, not enough fresh underwear, but who can afford that luxury in this place¡ªand on this stupid salary.


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    ¡°Be sure to put a ticket on that one boys!¡± I hollered to the group of officers passing by. They had equipment, cables and a hover-winch machine to hoist the silver ship with. ¡°Parking in an illegal spot, sounds like we just made the department an easy buck today.¡±


    The guys all laughed and gave me a wry salute. Raven and I headed down the mound and back onto street side again. I wiped my hands clean and strode with a smile on my face. It was the end of shift. Thank the mother-fucking-ever-god for that.


    * * *


    ¡°You two mother-fucking a-holes get into my office right the fuck now!¡±


    That¡¯s the greeting we got from our police chief. Instead of sneaking by clean past his office, we got tagged by him and were pelted with a slog of insults as he fingered us to get in his room. Most of it was directed at me, talking about my lack of competence, duty and, I think, one about my mother screwing a sloth and having a bastard child of low intelligence. Chief Harland was like twenty years my junior. It¡¯s like having a bloated greasy teen shouting at you for interrupting his gaming time.


    Imagine you¡¯re from the past, thinking about what a police chief¡¯s office would be like in the future; lots of holographic screens, clear walls, a desk that just full of data pads with the day¡¯s business on them. Well¡­ forget that crap. This was more like something out of the roaring 1970¡¯s, lots of empty coffee cups, papers stacked everywhere, walls covered in¡­ god, I don¡¯t know what it could be. Raven thought it might have been the blood of former officers, but I think was just any kind of curry the fat guy tried to consume and spat out realizing it was too hot.


    His uniform was much like ours, albeit, a tad more stained and ripped at the seams. The idea that ¡®one size fits all¡¯ when the station issued them out to us was a tell-tale sign that we were vastly under budget. Harland tried his best quell his anger. He slicked back his long greasy brown mane, took a sip from a cup of coffee (never mind the dead fly in it), savoured the flavour for a second and started ranting on us again.


    ¡°Do you know that I¡¯ve just had a hell of a time with the station manager a minute ago?¡± He glared at us both as he swiped the door to close behind us. ¡°That man is pissed! Pissed I tell ya! Not because of the crash, oh no¡ªgod forbid that! No, he was pissed, because two of my on-duty officers took that moment to walk off during a major accident, and had a fucking coffee instead!¡±


    ¡°Aw, shit¡­¡± I muttered. Raven quickly glanced at me with anger, knowing what the chief was on about. I then stated the obvious. ¡°The security cams were operating.¡±


    ¡°No shit!¡± The chief stated at me mockingly. ¡°Normally, they wouldn¡¯t be¡­ haven¡¯t worked for years, right? But¡­ it turns out, a crash will jog those ol¡¯ circuits back to life. Amazing!¡±


    ¡°Were all of them¡­ uh¡­ working?¡± I dared to ask.


    ¡°Enough, yes,¡± He bitterly mocked back. ¡°Enough to see you, sitting on your ass, sipping on those expensive coffees¡­ looking like you didn¡¯t give a fuck about all those people trapped, hurt and dying!¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± I simply replied back.


    Yeah, those old cams weren¡¯t operational, until today, it seemed. So, I can¡¯t fault the guy for nailing us for that one. I tried to say something, even Raven stuttered to speak, but he held out his chubby left hand and grunted at us to sit down. The two chairs (if you could still identify them as such), creaked upon our weight as we plunked down on them. Remember, 1970¡¯s decor, right? Lovely shades of brown and nauseating off-red.


    ¡°Thanks to you guys, we¡¯re now in the shit-meter at full tilt.¡± He stated while sitting in his own chair behind his messy desk. ¡°It makes our department look bad, do you understand me?¡± He pulled out a candy bar from his 20th Century inspired table, unwrapped it, and chewed on the simulated-chocolate treat. ¡°So now, we¡¯re expected to do actual work for a change. I hate doing actual work¡­ you know I do.¡± We both nodded in agreement. He really hated having to do anything like it. He nodded as well and continued on. ¡°So, because of this infraction, you and Raven are assigned to finding out how this ship¡­ or¡­ whatever this is, managed to breach our defences and smack through five levels of this station.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what?¡± Raven glared.


    ¡°Uh¡­ pardon?¡± I gawked in disbelief.


    ¡°You heard right,¡± He grinned. ¡°They would have actually sent you guys to the lock up, seeing how that¡¯s a dereliction of your duties as a paid officer of this station. But I managed to save you from that disgrace.¡± The bloated man chortled and rubbed his chocolatey fingers with delight. His eyes focused on me. Yeah, he really enjoyed giving me this bit of news. ¡°My dear officers, Raven Salak and Mike Bernard, you are hereby promoted, to the rank of station detective, and will head the investigation of this crash.


    ¡°Come again?¡± Raven said doing a double take. ¡°You¡¯re promoting us?¡±


    ¡°You heard me.¡± The chief nodded.


    ¡°Detective?¡± I repeated back with glare of confusion.


    ¡°A temporary advancement,¡± He snorted, taking another slow bite of his treat, eyeing me in delight. He knew I didn¡¯t want it, but still revelled in my surprise. ¡°You¡¯ll get more pay, of a sort, that should at least make you happy, in that regard. But, as I said, it¡¯s for a limited time. Since this station can¡¯t afford full time detectives, well¡­ at the rate we should be paying them, of course. So, for now¡­ you two will be it. Then, once the investigation is complete, you¡¯ll be reassigned back to your old posts.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Raven hooted, pumping her fist down with enthusiasm. ¡°I¡¯ll take that action, even if it is temporary, it¡¯s still a promotion¡­¡± She glanced over to me with a smile. She was excited and nudged me with her elbow. ¡°I knew this was going to be a good day.¡±


    Me, on the other hand, I was slack jawed and looking as if someone just slapped my mother bare-assed with a big frozen fish. Holy Fuck, I was promoted. How? Why? What? It didn¡¯t seem to make sense. My brain couldn¡¯t calculate the logic of it, mainly because, there was no logic to it. I tried to utter back a response, but my worlds were slurred and incompressible. The shock was still holding my brain hostage. The chief just grinned and nodded at me. His eyes fully conveyed to me what he was thinking, and (as if I could read his mind in that moment) they seemed to say, ¡°I got you, asshole.¡±

 It Sucks To Be Me

    ¡°Detective¡­¡±


    I stated it as if it were a curse word. By all rights it should be. Detectives on this station always end up dead. The minute you announce yourself as one to any of the perps, they¡¯ve got a laser beam focused on your head and then¡ªBoom! So long, been nice knowing ya. I sat there in the change room, half naked, with my pants still slumped around my ankles, depressed as shit as I continued to utter my title out loud. Raven, opposite to me, switching out her clothes (got she¡¯s got a nice rack), patted me on the head like my mother trying to comfort me and smiled. Ew, did I just compare her to my mother? Yikes!


    ¡°Stop being such a whiny bitch.¡± She said, finishing pulling up her tight jeans. ¡°This is an opportunity of a lifetime!¡±


    ¡°For you¡­¡± I pouted. ¡°I hate this crap.¡±


    ¡°Oh, shut up¡­¡± She rolled her eyes at me and snapped the back of my undies. ¡°You¡¯ve never even been one before. It¡¯s like being a beat cop¡­ but now¡­ you get to ask more questions and check out areas we¡¯ve never been before.¡±


    ¡°Whoopee¡­¡± I said, twirling my finger in the air.


    ¡°Jesus,¡± She moaned. ¡°You¡¯d better not be doing this the entire time we¡¯re questioning people. I may just put you in the airlock and end your suffering right then and there.¡±


    The offer was rather enticing. I almost took her up on it. But, no, I like living too much, I suppose. I just finished kicking off my pants, grabbed my civilian garb, and dressed up. It was time to go home. I¡¯d have to go and process all this, preferably with a stiff drink in hand. Raven waited for me at the end of the change room and approved of my choice in clothing. She must have read my mind, and suggested a night of drinks to celebrate (or in my case, drink in sorrow), feeling that we both needed some R&R before setting out in the morning.


    Yeah, I know, morning¨C¨Con a space-station no less. Good god, that always made me chuckle. This place rarely sees any sunlight at all, let alone orbiting enough to even technically have a morning, as such. It seemed comical continuing to use the term. There is no night, just as there is no morning. The only difference is using a clock to determine the time. And, oddly enough, we¡¯re all still going by Earth-standard time.


    There is a sun, say about¡­ oh, twenty-five AU from here, but there¡¯s a big ol¡¯ gas giant that blocks it for several days at a time. Triton was built into an asteroid that borders the very edge of its massive ten ring orbit. So, the station has to use an artificial light source when the other (barely visible) sunlight strikes this area. At least that way, they can control the whole day vs night thing. I won¡¯t get further into the semantics of it, just because it¡¯s all very boring nonsensical science shit that I can¡¯t stand yammering on about.


    Now then, getting back to us having a night out and getting loaded. Once I slammed my locker door and grabbed my well-worn grey fedora hat, I was ready to go.


    ¡°Have you ever cleaned that thing?¡± Raven mused as she jokingly tried to remove my hat.


    ¡°Once¡­ before I came here.¡± I stated, keeping her hand away. ¡°It¡¯s got charm, character, it¡¯s dignified¡­¡±


    ¡°It smells¡­¡± She held her nose. ¡°Sweat and booze¡­ I don¡¯t even want to know why.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I nodded with a grin. ¡°Best you not know.¡±


    * * *


    Taffy¡¯s bar on fifth-level was always busy. Some would call it the half-way point for any drinker on station. Go up any higher, and you might not get into one of the swankier places. Go too far down and, well¡ªyou may not leave there alive. Taffy¡¯s is about the only moderately priced place to get a drink, it had a decent supply and the food was tolerable, and that¡¯s putting it mildly. I mean, let¡¯s face it, supply is in short demand, so you literally get what you pay for. It¡¯s better not to ask where the food comes from, if you expect to hold it down long enough.


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    The music is always loud, the dance floor is full of people who think they know how to move, but Raven and I tend to show them how it¡¯s done right, of course. After a few of our teaching sessions to the unimpressed youth, we headed back to the main bar and got our much deserved refreshers. I savoured the whisky-type imitation brand, just as Raven started talking to me after throwing back a few shots.


    ¡°I wonder why the security fields didn¡¯t keep that ship from colliding with the docking platform¡­¡±


    It took me a few seconds to realize she was talking about that ship again. I sipped the glass one more time, gritted my teeth from the un-smooth taste of fake alcohol and looked at her.


    ¡°Probably because they let it through before realizing the ship was coming in too fast. It¡¯s happened before, but, not to the extreme like this, I will admit.¡±


    ¡°Makes no sense though.¡± She said, leaning her drunken¡¯ head onto hand as she used the bar to stabilize herself. ¡°They¡¯ve got contingencies upon contingencies for this sort of thing. There¡¯s even a repelling magnet to push the ship back before crossing the landing zone.¡±


    I gave a long frustrated sigh. Even drunk, she was on about work, now there¡¯s someone that enjoy their job way too much. I tried to humour her and explain further.


    ¡°Well, maybe someone tampered with all that stuff. You know, to keep it off the books, as it were.¡±


    Her head shot up and looked at me funny. That looked like a surprise and a smile all at once. Raven kissed me full on the lips and leapt off her seat.


    ¡°Oh, you are a fucking genius!¡± She squealed. Let¡¯s go up to the landing dock there and check the vids!¡±


    ¡°Hang on a sec¡­¡± I motioned with my free hand, the other one far too busy with my drink it, which I apply took a swig from. ¡°That¡¯s just a theory, I never said it was true. Besides, it¡¯s far too late for that. They¡¯ll be off duty up there and the place will be shut down till the next shift cycle.¡±


    ¡°Perfect!¡± She said, clasping her hands excitedly.


    ¡°What?¡± I glared at her in my drunken stupor.


    ¡°We can scope out the place, look for the clues and maybe even get into the computers before anyone can stop us.¡±


    It took me a minute to process that. I took another sip of my drink, eyeballed the glass, and then put it down with a long sigh.


    ¡°Raven, I¡¯m not going to go do that. I way too tired, and too drunk to boot. I think you¡¯re taking this new job a tad bit too seriously.¡± The disappointment in her face morphed quickly. I could see she wasn¡¯t happy with my statement, going from a frown, and then right into stern glare. I tried to rephrase that a little better. ¡°Look, it¡¯s late, we just got off shift, and that¡¯s a hell of a long way to go after so much alcohol in our system. And even if we did, what you¡¯re suggesting¡­¡±


    ¡°You mean you suggested¡­¡± She rebutted.


    ¡°Okay, sure,¡± I conceded. ¡°What I suggested, fine¡­ we might possibly be exceeding our authority in doing all that. Remember, we¡¯re only temporary detectives.¡±


    The music in the bar conveniently shifted from loud-in-your-face kind, to the soft-and-lets make out kind. She seemed to consider my words for a minute, glancing at the patrons slow dancing with each other and making out (rather overly), and tapped her glass in hand with a steady rhythm. It would have been great if it matched the music, but, no. Raven sighed and placed her drink back on the bar.


    ¡°Maybe you¡¯re right.¡±


    I nodded back. ¡°Yes, yes I am.¡±


    She came close to me, place her hand on my arm, and gazed at me intently. Woo, I felt like there was a big ol¡¯ kiss heading my way, possibly turning this night into something a bit better¨C¨Cnope. Before I knew it, she hoisted me away from the bar, causing me to drop my precious drink, and muscled me along side with her as she left the place.


    ¡°But, maybe I¡¯m right too.¡± She said, grumbling under breath. ¡°Let¡¯s go do that thing that you said, and that I want to actually do. Come on, partner!¡±


    Nothing draws attention like seeing a woman dragging an unwilling man out of a bar. Like a two year old not wanting to leave a birthday party, I caused a scene that would have made any parent roll their eyes and spank the bottom of that spoiled brat. That would have been kinky if she did¡­ but, no such luck. I even tried to hold onto the side of the door frame just before we exited out. Raven applied her knee to my testicles and I crumbled like a really dried out cake. Yes, I¡¯m aware that allegory wasn¡¯t the best, but hey, who¡¯s telling the story here, huh? The point is, she dragged my ass out that semi-nice bar, and into something we should never have done in the first place.


    Looking back on it now, I think that was the biggest mistake she ever made. I shouldn¡¯t have gone out for drinks with her. At least we would have been safe and not in that horrible situation afterwards. Oh, sorry, I think I¡¯m getting ahead of myself here. That¡¯s why you¡¯d never want me to read you a book, I¡¯d probably be the guy skipping to the end and ruining it all for you. Fine, I¡¯ll try to restrain my usual habits, just for you, okay? Let¡¯s just leave it here with her dragging me along the ground by the ankle as we headed to the elevator. I know you¡¯re laughing at this point getting a mental image of it, so I¡¯ll wait until your done and then we can get back to my story here. Ah, fuck it, I need a pee break, be back in a jiffy.

 Goddamn Junkies!

    Okay then, I know I feel better after what I did. Do you? Great, let¡¯s get back into it shall we? Where did I leave off? Oh, right¡­ Raven and I as detectives. So, as I said before, I was dragged¡­ er¡­ guided to the elevator and we took it to the level where the accident originated from. Uh, shit, I forgot which one that was again. One of smaller ones, I know that much. Well, that¡¯s not important right now, let¡¯s just say it was a higher tiered section, m¡¯kay? Anyhoo, she and I got up there, and headed to the very dark, and very non-operational landing bay. We had to break out our small flashlights to snoop around in the dark.


    Yes, we all have flashlights on us at all times. You¡¯ve got to in this sort of place. Never know when the power will go out from a passing electromagnetic storm, solar flare, heck, even a ship crashing into your space station. That was probably the main reason it was out in the first place. The doors were closed to keep space from sucking us all into the abyss, and I¡¯m sure they were trying to conserve as much energy as the could, for a station of this size. I mean, those solar batteries don¡¯t come cheap ya know.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s over here.¡± Raven said to me, her voice echoing through the very large spacious bay.


    In the centre of it, was the large gaping hole the ship had created. It was nice that the next level below put up a big honkin¡¯ tarp to cover it. I¡¯m sure that really solves the whole problem. And where you get a big tarp of that size anyway? It¡¯s not like there¡¯s a shop anywhere near that specializes in that. I must have uttered that thought aloud, cause Raven elbowed me and told me to, ¡°Shut the fuck up¡±.


    I was about to give my response to her, by kicking her in the ass, when my eye suddenly caught something familiar parked in the back corner of the bay. I broke away from her immediately and headed over to examine it, just to make sure I wasn¡¯t mistaken. Raven tried to quietly yell at me¡­ yes, quietly¡­ it is possible to do that you know. I ignored her passive aggressiveness, and walked up to the oddity sitting there. It was the sleek, silvery ship. The one that crashed through station and made that nice new open concept tunnel through the levels. It was barely covered by a blue tarp, with its nose sticking out like a sore thumb. What is it about these tarps? Seriously, did I not notice a tarp store opening up somewhere?


    ¡°Is that what I think it is?¡± Raven gawked as I removed the cover back.


    ¡°Sure looks like it.¡± I said, examining the craft with my hand. I glided it over the smooth silky metal. I felt strange for doing it, for some reason. Maybe because it felt like I was stroking a woman¡¯s naked thigh. ¡°What the hell is it doing here? This should be in the security zone parking bay.¡±


    ¡°I told you something was up with this ship, man.¡± Raven nudged me.


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I nodded.


    Raven glared at me, noticing I was still stroking it. ¡°Do you need a moment? Or some tissues for afterward?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Gawd!¡± She rolled her eyes. She slapped my hand down from it and roused me from copping a feel for so long. ¡°I swear you need some professional help, dude.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t¡­ I mean¡­ that¡¯s not what I¡­.¡± I stuttered, looking for any words to explain my actions. I quickly collected myself and placed her hand to it. ¡°There! See? Tell me that¡¯s not fucked up.¡±


    Raven¡¯s eye grew wide. She was much better and describing the sensation then what my mind came up with.


    ¡°Eeew¡­¡±


    Okay, maybe that wasn¡¯t better. But, she at least understood my concern.


    ¡°It¡¯s like¡­ petting a shark.¡± She glared back at me. ¡°It¡¯s so squishy to the touch, isn¡¯t it? But it¡¯s metal, and yet¡­ not. Weird, what is this thing?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no windows either.¡± I pointed upwards, showing the section of where should be. ¡°What kind of a spaceship doesn¡¯t have windows? The pilot would get bored, not to mention the passengers.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t always have to have a window, ya know. It could be an AI craft of sorts.¡±


    ¡°I doubt it.¡± I scoffed at her suggestion. ¡°Sure, it¡¯s small, but they¡¯re more than enough room for some guests. There¡¯s not even a seam for the door area, or landing struts underneath.¡± Raven seemed surprise by that and looked. I waved my hand underneath where there should be one and even scooted down into the spot. ¡°It¡¯s levitating for god¡¯s sake. There¡¯s nothing there, see? Even if I bump it, the ship¡¯s not moving.¡±


    ¡°This is fuckin¡¯ creepy¡­¡± She said, while eyeing it. She seemed just as perplexed as I was. But then, she shook her head and covered it back up with the tarp.¡°Look, we can worry about this mystery later. Let¡¯s get back on track here.¡±


    ¡°We are¡­¡± I said, coming out of the underside and gesturing at it with both hands. ¡°This is what you wanted. Investigation, detective work¡­ all that cop-type stuff¡­¡±


    ¡°This is just one part of it.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡± I peered at her questioningly. ¡°Did you take a course on how to be a super-awesome detective or something in the last few hours of our new promotion? Cause I didn¡¯t get that pamphlet.¡±


    She dragged me away from the ship and continued to walk over to the other part of the landing bay.


    ¡°We need to look up the vids and anything about the crash itself. If you¡¯re going to do a puzzle, you need all the pieces to work with first.¡±


    I swear she got that from one from advertisement boards on our daily walks. Some sort of drink, I think. Could have been for clothes or something, I dunno, just sounds like that sort of thing.


    ¡°Come on!¡± She shouted at me.


    I snapped out of my inner thought about it, and resolved that she was determined to get to the bottom of this mystery. Fine, I¡¯ll play along, I guess. As we reached the office, I heard a noise. I spun around and eyed the vast empty landing bay, dark and fucking eerie as it was, and peered about to see in what direction it came from. Then Raven heard it too. She also stopped to gaze about. Then, like a fucking heartache before my years, a guy popped out from the far corner of the office. He¡¯d been wedged in the gap of the wall and manifested like a zombie waiting for its victims.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ have¡­ the time,¡± He muttered, looking at us with wild eyes and a haunted face. ¡°I use to¡­ somewhere¡­ but, I need¡­ need¡­¡± He paused, looked at me, and smiled. ¡°Hello there!¡±


    ¡°Goddamnit¡­¡± I cursed. ¡°It¡¯s just Al¡­¡±


    ¡°Al? Al who?¡± Raven asked, still clutching her chest as she nearly soiled herself from that scare as well.


    ¡°Hey, Al¡­ ya lost again?¡± I said, relaxing my posture and gesturing at him. ¡°You¡¯re usually in two floors down¡­ remember? Remember, Al?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ uh¡­ what¡­¡± He stammered in confusion. ¡°Oh, officer guy¡­ yeah-yeah¡­ uh, have you got the time?¡±


    ¡°Jesus¡­¡± I rolled my eyes.


    Every fucking day I¡¯ve got to deal with this junkie. The man burned out long ago. Nobody knows who he is, where he¡¯s from, he¡¯s just some guy that got stuck here, been panhandling on the lowers for years upon years. And what does he spend all that money on? Why, whatever the latest narcotic that rolls out from the gangs and mob controlled sections. I always find him passed out on the street, down some obscure alley, or even by the elevator near my place. I swear, if he pisses on me again, I¡¯ll fucking throw him down that hole to the bottom.


    ¡°Okay, Al¡­¡± I passively waved at him, seeing if he was keeping eye contact with me this time. ¡°No time or money for you today, okay? And before you ask, no, neither of us have some drugs on us either, ya get me? There¡¯s nobody on this level to help you out.¡±


    Raven watched as I calmly approached him and checked his vitals. I just anted to make sure the old fossil wasn¡¯t going to collapse. Last thing I need is some junkie dropping dead and me having to carry the body out of a restricted area that even we shouldn¡¯t even be in.


    ¡°Officer¡­ guy, yah, yeah, th-th-that¡¯s you.¡± Al glared at me with his awful, toothless grin. ¡°Nice, you¡¯re nice to me, I know you¡­ have you seen my time?¡±


    ¡°No, Al,¡± I responded, drawing out a frustrated sigh as I pandered to his question. ¡°No time here. Why don¡¯t you see if it¡¯s on the next level down, hm? Maybe go sleep off whatever you¡¯re on now. There¡¯s a good guy¡­ off ya go.¡±


    I guided him away slowly, making sure I wasn¡¯t too rough about it. Al tended to get abusive if you did. I even motioned to the way out, making sure he took note of it, and let the man saunter over on his own soon afterwards. Shit, I hope I never end up like that poor junkie. I can¡¯t imagine having such a fried brain and living on this turd of a station. I¡±m sure he¡¯s run into a few unsavoury characters in his wanderings and paid the price for doing so. Yeah, if I ever get like that, I hope someone ejects me into space and put me out of my misery.


    Raven and I watched him with pity. She tapped me on the shoulder and motioned her head back to the office.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get back on track here. I don¡¯t want to get caught on vids should this place come back online in a few hours.¡±


    ¡°I still think this is a waste of time.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I know you do.¡± She smirked at me. ¡°But I don¡¯t, so quit your chicken-shit attitude and get in there.¡±


    I cocked a brow at her. ¡°Chicken-shit?¡± I sarcastically repeated. How would she even know an expression like that, let alone what a chicken was? There hasn¡¯t been an animal like that in nearly four hundred years, well, not around here that is. Maybe they¡¯ve got them on other colonies, or a few strays on Earth somewhere that survived the ecological disasters and wars, but, nothing around this side of the galaxy. I had to give my head a shake. See? She¡¯s got me thinking about stupid stuff again. Chickens of all things.


    ¡°Fine¡­¡± I huffed out at her. ¡°Let¡¯s go get your so-called evidence.¡±


    * * *


    What was supposed to take only a few minutes searching this office ended up being a whopping two hours. We combed through dozens of vid files, papers (couldn¡¯t believe it still exists), and endless data pads that where just lying about without a care. Fuck, these guys were sloppy idiots. I tried to contain my boredom as I sat there flicking through the mind numbing information, when something actually interesting caught my eye. It was from someone named, Joshua, regarding the station¡¯s top tier security clearance.


    Please inform your section that there will be a blackout of communication during the next few days. Do not operate any ship within the allotted hours given, as this will hinder the experiment. You know what to do and whom to contact if anyone asks.


    Joshua


    I showed it to Raven, who nodded after giving it a quick glance. She was also discovering something interesting on the vid file as she played it back for me.


    ¡°Take a look at this, do you see something familiar in the background of space?¡±


    The video showed the landing bay, specifically, the view beyond the transparent blue energy barrier protecting the bay from the vacuum of space. For a few seconds, nothing was out of the ordinary, just the daily routine and docking of the usual space freighters; but then, from the corner angle, in the deep blackness a few miles out, there was a small craft. It was hard to make out at first, but as I peered intently on it, I could see that it was¡­


    ¡°Holy fuck, the silver ship!¡± I blurted out.


    ¡°That was five months ago.¡± Raven informed me. ¡°I saw it again on another vid five months prior to that..¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing on records.¡± I stated back, still eyeing it as it looped over and over.


    ¡°I know,¡± She nodded with a smirk. ¡°I can¡¯t find anything on it. There¡¯s no flight log, no manifest inventory, no docking permits¡­ nothing.¡± She tapped the screen and shut off the vid. ¡°It¡¯s like the damn thing doesn¡¯t exist.¡±


    ¡°Maybe someone doesn¡¯t want it to exist, ya know?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± I sighed, hiking up my belt. ¡°I¡¯ve turned a blind eye for certain deliveries for certain people. As have we all in the force¡­.¡±


    ¡°Not me,¡± Raven protested with her arms folded. ¡°I think that¡¯s just asking for trouble.¡±


    I snorted at her judgemental eye on me. ¡°Please, you¡¯ve done it too. Or do I need to remind you of that time on south lower ten, hanger twelve, where you disappeared for a few minutes to find you¡¯re¡­ uh¡­ what was it? Oh, yes¡­ package that arrived.¡±


    She curled her lip and lowered her eyes at me.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey,¡± I calmly said, patting her shoulder, big grin on my face. ¡°I don¡¯t judge, it¡¯s none of my business¡­ even if it was violating quarantine protocols¡­¡±


    ¡°You asshole!¡± She shouted, swatting me on the chest. ¡°You looked! Didn¡¯t you!¡±


    ¡°Like I said,¡± I shrugged with my hands up. ¡°I don¡¯t judge. But don¡¯t act like you¡¯re better than us all. Bringing an invasive species could mean a spacing, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a fucking plant, dude.¡± She grimaced at me. ¡°Just a fucking tomato plant¡­ I like them fresh.¡±


    I giggled slightly and raised up my hands again. ¡°Whatever floats your space pod darlin¡¯, I didn¡¯t say a word. That¡¯s kind of friend I am.¡±


    Her anger seemed to subside as I mentioned that. She had to agree, I could have ratted her out at any given time. But, like all of us here, we just do what we need to do to survive. Instead of dragging it out further, she downloaded the file to her personal data pad and started cleaning up the mess she made. Not that it needed it. The place was a mess anyway, who would know?


    ¡°Let¡¯s get going¡­¡± She said to me, storming out o the office. ¡°We¡¯re going to be back on duty in a few more hours.¡±


    ¡°Fuck me¡­¡± I groaned. ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep like shit, thanks to doing all this.¡±


    ¡°Quit you¡¯re complaining!¡± I heard her reply outside. ¡°Let¡¯s go already!¡±


    I gazed about the room one last time and gave defeated sigh. As much as I didn¡¯t want to be a detective, prying into things that don¡¯t really concern me (on a personal level), I was finding a small amount of interest about the going-on¡¯s about this whole situation. Why was this silver ship such a mystery? Who the fuck was covering it up? And, good god, what the hell was happening on the top tier of this station? Man, I just wanted to be drunk, asleep, and dreaming of naked women taking advantage of me. Is that so much to ask?

 A Hard Hit

    Raven was well ahead of me, I practically had to speed up just to maintain some sort of pace. She seemed anxious. I could see her turning her head in every direction when she came to a corridor junction and held on to her pad for dear life. When I finally did catch up, I held on to her arm to stop her for a second.


    ¡°Whoa-whoa! Slow down! Geez, you know how lazy I am.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t be too careful¡­¡± She glared at me. ¡°This could be something important enough to get us killed.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a vid, nothing is that important around here.¡±


    ¡°Says the man prying into my affairs or packages, huh?¡±


    Okay, she got me with that one. I pursed my lips and reluctantly agreed.


    ¡°Fine, but don¡¯t be so paranoid. Nobody knows we were even there. Just Al, and he¡¯s high as a helium balloon anyway. Nobody would even think of asking him anything.¡±


    Raven continued on and briskly headed for the main elevator at the end of the corridor.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got to find a safe place for this¡­¡± She stopped for a second, spun around and handed it to me. ¡°You take it and put it somewhere nobody can find it.¡±


    I gawked at her questioningly. ¡°Hide it? Where? Up my ass? Take a chill pill lady, it¡¯s not like we¡¯ve found a rare jewel or one of your tomato plants.¡±


    She forced it into my hand and glared at me.


    ¡°This is important, just do it for me, will ya?¡±


    The long intense stare she gave was enough to make me see the seriousness in her conviction. She was truly frightened by what we found. So was I, not so much for the vid, but the fact that this was making her go all screwy on me. I took it hesitantly, placed it inside my vest pocket, and patted it lightly. She gave an exhale of relief, as well as a peck on the right cheek.


    ¡°You can be a good guy, sometimes, you know that?¡± She grinned.


    I scowled at her remark. ¡°What do you mean, sometimes? I¡¯m a good guy.¡± She gave me a questioning glance. I thought about it for a second, and then relented. ¡°Okay-okay, maybe not all the time, but enough where it matters, alright?¡±


    She laughed and patted my shoulder.


    ¡°Come on Mr. Nice Guy, let¡¯s head back and get some rest. We¡¯re on duty in a few hours, I think we¡¯ll need all the sleep we can get.¡±


    Now that, I could agree whole heartedly on. All this snooping around was enough for me. All I wanted to do was go home, crash into my bed, and watch virtual porn¡­ uh¡­ I mean, a relaxing vid to take my mind off of the day. Oh¡­ alight, yes, it¡¯s gonna be porn. Hey, I¡¯m a guy, I like what I like, okay. Anyway, we proceeded to leave the section and return to the lift that would take us back to our level. But before I got on to that unclean looking elevator, I turned about and glared down the darkened hallway.


    I don¡¯t know why, but I wasn¡¯t feeling good about what we¡¯d discovered. There was a nagging feeling at the base of my skull that made me wonder if this was something we¡¯d regret prying into. I felt like, well, like someone was watching us. It was a strange feeling. I know for a fact that all of the security cameras in this area are faulty. Nothing gets monitored here anymore. It¡¯s a shit place to even watch twenty four-seven, mainly because it¡¯s nothing but lowlifes doing deals, hookers dishing out quick blow-jobs, and well, homeless jerks looking for a place to crash for a bit.


    I knew for a fact that none of those types were the ones watching us. They had their own problems. No, this felt more¡­ ominous. If that¡¯s even the right way to describe it. It could just be Al again, following us about. But, no¡­ he¡¯s probably passed out already by that office we left.


    ¡°Well,¡± Raven smacked the back of my head. ¡°Ya getting in here, or what?¡±


    That broke my trance, or whatever the hell was causing me to glare down that way. I nodded, stepped into the lift, and then gave her a return light smack to the head. I know hitting a woman isn¡¯t right, but, come on, she started it. The doors closed and I instructed the shitty elevator AI to take us down.


    ¡°I need a drink.¡± I muttered.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you always?¡± She glared me with smile.


    ¡°Shut up¡­¡±


    ¡°Fuck you¡­¡± She replied back.


    Yep, the best of friends we were, the best of friends.


    * * *


    Now, I¡¯m not sure if four hours of sleep is enough for anyone to have, quite frankly. It certainly wasn¡¯t enough for likes of me, anyway. I had a hard time falling to sleep after our little adventure, but, after a few stiff drinks, I finally conked out. When I awoke, after that four hours I mentioned, I was greeted by five officers standing over me with flashlights. At first, I thought I was still dreaming, like I actually hadn¡¯t woken up all the way. But then, I heard their voices and felt a foot kick me on the leg.


    I tried to complain, but, again, I was too busy trying to regain consciousness. Once my eyes opened up more, and another foot kicked me for a second time, I soon realized they were from my division. I took note of their glowing badge numbers on their uniforms, while holding up a hand to block the damn lights flashing into my eyes. I tried to be polite and asked the obvious question.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°What the fuck do you assholes want? Get those fucking things out of my eyes, man!¡±


    ¡°Get up you scum!¡± One shouted at me, giving another kick.


    ¡°Easy-easy!¡± I said slapping his foot away. ¡°Jesus, you guys really do have too much free time on your hands. What am I late for work, or something?¡±


    The five officers lowered their flashlights and I could finally see their faces. There was Tom Stratmore (a total dickhead), Helen Chen (A bit of bitch but has a nice ass), Dom Richiani and Bill Haitanz (two newbs that practically look like brothers). I greeted each one with a middle finger. The fifth person, coming from behind them, came up to me, squatted down, and met my gaze as I sat up in my bed. It was the chief.


    ¡°Well-well-well, look at the sight of you, huh?¡± He snickered while tapping on my forehead.


    ¡°What¡¯s this all about, Chief?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I thought¡­¡± The chief stated, taking a whiff of me and grabbing the empty liquor bottle beside me. ¡°Always the drink that does it. Still not a good alibi, that¡¯s for sure.¡±


    This was really starting to piss me off. ¡°What the fuck is this? What the hell is going on?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± He snickered. ¡°Why, it¡¯s your arrest, fucko¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I glared at him. ¡°Arrested? For what? For being drunk at home?¡±


    ¡°No, for murder, ya shit.¡± He stated, forcibly holding my face and staring at me directly. ¡°You are under arrest for murder.¡±


    ¡°Murder?¡± I gawked in confusion. ¡°You¡¯re accusing me of murder? Of who? Where? Look, I would never murder anyone, chief¡­¡±


    ¡°Save it, Mike.¡± He pushed my face away. ¡°There¡¯s nothing you say to change the fact.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Is this a joke? Are you guys fuckin¡¯ with me?  It¡¯s not very damn funny.¡±


    ¡°Shit, can you believe this guy?¡± Tom Stratmore mocked. ¡°Just fess up to it already, stop embarrassing yourself.¡±


    ¡°To what?¡± I stressed, waving my hands about. ¡°I was here the whole time, man!¡±


    ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re claiming innocence, huh?¡± The chief chuckled. ¡°Fine-fine¡­ let¡¯s take you the scene and then you can try that shit with me again.¡±


    He roughly picked me up out of the bed, and tossed me to the other officers. The looks of disgust and anger told me this was something serious. The chief motioned his finger for me to follow him, and the group of officers assisted me  out the door as we all headed out. The chief glanced back at me as I was dragged along.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see if maybe this will refresh your memory, huh, asshole?¡±


    * * *


    Minutes later, we arrived at the crime scene. I had woken up enough to take note of my attire. I was still wearing my clothes from last night, thank god, nothing like being dragged through the place with little more than a pair of underwear. But, as we came closer to the section, that¡¯s when it finally hit me. Time felt like it was slowing down, I could see where we were heading for, it was a familiar apartment, one I¡¯ve been to many times, both as a partner and as an ex-lover.


    ¡°Oh god, it¡¯s Raven¡­¡± I gasped.


    As we entered, the room was aflood with station cops. There were scanner droids hovering about, taking detailed images of the place, and analyzing the DNA on various objects. On the floor, laying in a pool of blood, was poor, half-naked Raven. She was face down, with a massive hole of where her spine should be. The blood spatter was everywhere. She must have been getting undressed, preparing to go to bed, and had her back turned to the attacker.


    Shit man, I was in total shock. I wanted to vomit. Tears formed in my eyes as I gazed upon her corpse. I couldn¡¯t believe she was dead. We¡¯d just seen each other only hours ago, how or why this happened in such a short of time was beyond me. The officers dragged me into the room further, and the chief stood over Raven, pointing at her.


    ¡°So, where were you when this happened, Mike?¡±


    I could tell he was being sarcastic. The mocking grin kind of cemented that fact as well.


    ¡°I-I-I¡­ I was at home.¡± I stammered, the shock still hitting my mind. ¡°I fell asleep drunk¡­¡¯


    ¡°Bullshit!¡± He bitterly replied. ¡°You were here, weren¡¯t you? You and she were together, maybe you wanted more, and she tried to stop you.¡±


    ¡°What? Never! Fuck no! I swear to you, chief!¡± I shouted back. ¡°I wasn¡¯t here! I went home and so did she. The last time I saw her, she was walking  back to her apartment!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re digging up the security footage as we speak, Mike¡­¡± The chief glared back. ¡°You two went out to a bar last night, lots of people saw you and her leave together, where did you go after that?¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure what to say in that moment. Do I tell him we were doing our detective work after hours? That we entered a restricted area without permission? No, best not to give him that information, it would probably incriminate me even more. I tried to think of something else on the spot.


    ¡°We got bored of the place, we headed out, just for a stroll. We wanted to talk about our promotions, the one you assigned to us, remember?   The investigation? She wanted to talk about what we would do the next day and where to start. That¡¯s it I swear to you!¡±


    The chief waved a hand at me, dismissing my comment, and turned away. He was frustrated. Everyone in there was. Raven was a well-liked by all of them, she was a respected station officer, not like me. I would even suspect me in something like this, but, since I know what I did and didn¡¯t do, I wasn¡¯t going to go down in this way.


    ¡°Chief!¡± I stated, struggling out of the hold the others had on me. ¡°I know I¡¯m a bit of a scum wad, lord knows Raven did too. But, I can tell you with all my heart, I did not kill her. She was my partner, she would have kicked my ass if I tried anything. Hell, I don¡¯t even have the stomach to kill someone, I¡¯m too much of a coward to even attempt it.¡±


    The chief gave an exhausted sigh and rubbed his chin in thought. I wondered if he was mulling over my little speech I just gave, or if he was thinking about lunch. He¡¯s a man of priorities, ya know.


    ¡°You are a coward.¡± He nodded while still rubbing his unshaven chin. ¡°That much is true. You ran away from a riot crowd on your first day here. They found you huddled behind a bar in full gear using your shield as a cover.¡±


    The other officers all chuckled at that memory. Yeah, not one of my proudest moments, I was pretty green back then. I still might do the same thing today, although, I might be found drinking at the bar instead of hiding underneath it. A droid came over and scanned my body. I could see the mechanized robot analyzing the data behind those bright blue eyes and waited for the results. It hovered there for a second, before turning to the chief and giving its report.


    ¡°DNA scan complete.¡± It stated. ¡°There is no match found to the murder weapon and this individual.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Chief Harland glared at it.


    ¡°Ninety-nine point one accuracy.¡± It replied. ¡°There are traces of Officer Mike¡¯s DNA, but a negligible percentage to link him to the crime.¡±


    Harland nodded and motioned for the robot to carry on elsewhere. I gave a sigh or relief, and wanted to kiss that droid something awful. The chief motioned to the other officers to stand down, and they let me go.


    ¡°So, now that I¡¯m no longer under arrest¡­¡± I brushed my arms lightly, those guys really had me in a tight hold.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say that.¡± The chief folded his arms glaring at me. ¡°There¡¯s still the matter of your weapon.¡±


    ¡°What about it?¡±


    He pointed to the other droid, holding my gun in a plastic bag.


    ¡°That¡¯s the murder weapon¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ shit¡­¡±


    That¡¯s all I could say. How or why it got to be there, well, that¡¯s a good question. But more importantly, who the hell used it to kill poor sweet Raven here? That¡¯s what I needed to find out. God damnit, girl¡­ what hell did you get us into.