“I like to exercise my rights,” Miranda added in a soft voice. “As often as I possibly can.”

  The silence that followed that statement would’ve been comical to Devon if he wasn’t surrounded by hostiles. “The choice is yours, Grassy! Surrender now and get to see the sunset on Arth, or don’t and choose the form of your destructor. Either Miranda’s tender ministrations, or Black Maria’s missile pods and energy cannons.”

  “You’re under arressst no matter what,” Thassor said, his sibilant voice tinny through the comlink. “It’sss sssimply a matter of the condition of your body when we place the cuffsss on, Elowan scum.”

  “Hey, that’s my people you’re talking about,” Ela snapped.

  “Are your people criminalsss like thisss one?”

  “Well, no, but—”

  “Then we are not talking about your people, Jassspar.”

  “Stop hissing my name like that!”

  Devon and Miranda shared a look. Miranda held her pistol in a two-handed grip with her upper arms, but she spread her middle thorax arms in something akin to a shrug.

  “I hisss all the time.”

  “Yeah, but you do it more whenever you say my name!”

  “I do not—”

  “Can we blow something up already?” Copperhead demanded. “My joints are rusting, and the only lubricant is criminal blood.”

  Devon shook his head. Finally, something he could work with. “Hear that, Grassy? My crew’s argumentative, pissed off, and ready to kill people. It’s been a long chase, and we’re done. Come along quietly, or get ready to die. Again, the choice is yours.”

  Graslen made the right choice. In the end, they always did.

  “Welcome aboard.” Thassor’s sharp teeth gleamed in the bridge’s fluorescent lighting. “Enjoy your little sssurface jaunt?”

  “And the sub-light cruise that went along with it.” Devon waited for Thassor to vacate the captain’s chair, then he threw himself into it. He sighed as the chair’s smart-fabric molded to his body again. “That’s good on the ol’ back.”

  Thassor hissed out a laugh. “I’ve sssent word back to HQ, but they’ll need your report.”

  Devon winced. Report writing was the one area of policing he detested. He’d hated it when he was a rookie working traffic, and he hated it now. He’d hoped the more interesting the case, the more fun it would be to write, but bureaucratic processes managed to suck the joy out of even that. “I’ll type it up tomorrow.” Devon put his hands behind his head and leaned back. “It’s time for a little R&R.”

  “I wish you wouldn’t sssay that,” Thassor said. “Thingsss have been exciting enough. Don’t jinx it.”

  Thassor’s console chimed. He put the earpiece against his tympanic membrane. His sharp-toothed grin returned. Before he could say anything, the door slid open and Miranda stomped in. She took one look at Thassor and muttered, “Oh, no.”

  “Oh, yesss.” Thassor punched in a few commands on his console, and a transcript of the audio message he’d received popped up on the main viewscreen. “Ordersss from the top. We’re to hand our prisonersss off to the crew of Watson’s Tail and continue to the designated coordinatesss. Sssome ssskullduggery is afoot.”

  “Now I’m starting to think you’re hamming up the hissing, Thassor,” Devon said. He read the message several times, then sighed. “Very well. Miranda, take us to the rendezvous point. You know how it goes: another day, another credit.”

  “We better be getting more than one credit for this,” Miranda grumbled. “It’s been a very long day.”

  Devon activated the console in his chair’s armrest and examined the information on the retrieved piece of software. Where had it come from, again? The Cartography Department? The title of the file folder didn’t explain anything, nor could he access it and see what paperwork there would be to explain the program’s purpose.

  Well, no matter. Like I said, another day, another credit. Devon started to close the program, but gave one last look at the intriguing, one word title:

  Starflight.

  To Cache A Killer

  By Michael J. Ciaravella

  Starport Central,

  Arth Orbital Station

  Josiah Benton’s first thought, upon seeing the sleek, hammerhead shape of the Interstel exploratory cruiser Redoubtable outside the porthole of Starport Central, was that it still remained one of the most beautiful shapes that he had ever seen.

  Josiah remembered vividly the first time he had seen one of the gorgeous, sleek shapes, three years before. His father, a minor functionary in the still fledgling Interstel bureaucracy, had allowed him the chance to watch from the Starport Central gallery as the first wave of ships took off into the unknown, taking a rare moment from his work to show his devoted son what he considered the future of humanity’s reach for the stars. The bevy of aliens, travelers, and exotic sites and smells had been completely lost upon his younger self, who only had eyes for the sleek, ivory forms that dominated his view of space, knowing that he would give anything to ride in one, seeking out the mysteries of the galaxy.

  Unfortunately, such dreams were doomed to face the harsh light of reality as one grew older. Only a handful of Humans were lucky enough and talented enough to crew one of the precious few starships that humanity could manage to build and fuel, and he had neither the pedigree nor the aptitude to join their extraordinary mission. He was lucky that his family’s connections were enough to keep him on the Spaceport, in the fairly exalted position of a junior examiner.

  “Come along, Josiah.” The chiding voice from beside him brought him back to reality, and he found himself hurrying to catch up with his companion as she moved briskly towards the cofferdam that connected the spaceport to the external docking port that the ship was using.

  “Yes, Examiner,” Josiah replied, attempting to not seem rushed as he kept pace with his superior, Senior Examiner Angela Vesor. Clad in matching black and gold, form-fitting jumpsuits with the arm patches of the Interstel Scientific Bureau and the golden magnifiers of their examiner status, they both got wary stares from the Interstel staff and crew members from the various vessels that were docked there. Most were wary of the examiners. While they had the respectable mandate of investigating the various items that were brought back from the explorations in the galaxy, they were also the ones who confiscated such items, usually after giving the ship’s crews the value of what they had initially believed the items to be. While one of the newest divisions of the Interstel structure, they were given impressive power from the directorship itself, and several unwary captains had found themselves reminded that while their power might be limitless underway, they did have masters when they returned.

  After the first few interactions, many ships came to dread the arrival of an examiner, and others found themselves carefully hiding any items that they found from Interstel, hoping to find a better price on the black market.

  That lasted only until the first time that a senior examiner used their immense power, granted by the Interstel government, to arrest the entire crew and had the captain tried, sentenced to death, and then had their sentence commuted to life imprisonment at the last moment. After that, there was very little attempt at bucking their authority.

  Any additional thoughts that Josiah might have had were cut off by their arrival at the cofferdam. A single flash of Vesor’s identification card opened the hatch for them, and they moved briskly down the narrow corridor. The inner port opened as they arrived, but they found an immense form in their way even more daunting than the airlock hatch. A DX-99 biosynthetic android, watching them carefully as they approached, any attempt at passing for Human instantly negated by the pair of glowing red photoreceptors seeming to take in everything at once, even before they were close enough to see much of his metallic frame.

  “This is a restricted area,” The android’s mechanical voice began. “I must ask you to return to the Spaceport.”

  For a brief moment, Josiah had to remind himself that androids were there to aid humanity in their move to the stars, not to cause them harm. If the senior examiner had any such concerns, however, they were not apparent. “I am Senior Examiner Angela Vesor of the Interstel Science Bureau, and I require an immediate conference with Captain Jonathan Russell.”

  For the briefest of instants, the automaton seemed to consider this, but stepped back dutifully. “The captain is in his office; I will take you to him.” Vesor nodded and allowed the android to precede them down the corridor. The trip was all too brief, as they came to a slate-grey door with the captain’s name on it. Pressing a small control beside the door, the android spoke clearly.

  "Captain, M020993 reporting. You have visitors who wish an audience with you."

  Despite the fact that the android should not have any sort of Human type affect at all, Josiah was certain that he heard a certain hesitancy in the automaton's voice. After a moment, a deep voice replied through the communications panel. "Who is it, MOTO?"

  "The visitors identify themselves as Angela Vesor and Josiah Benton, examiners for the Interstel Science Bureau Department of Classification. Tentative confirmation attained through visual comparison of identification documents."

  The hesitation from the other side of the communications console was far more understandable. The Department of Classification was the specialty division devoted to the recovery and analysis of rare artifacts that the various exploration ships brought back with them. As such, they held an outsized authority when it came to the business of interstellar exploration, and a visit from such illustrious personages were rare, and not often sought.

  "Thank you, MOTO. Send them in."

  Any surprise that Josiah had felt about the captain thanking an android was banished as the hatch slid open, and it gestured that they could both enter. The senior examiner entered first, with Josiah following behind. From the doorway, the android waited, clearly sensing that the cabin was cozy with three occupants, and potentially claustrophobic with four.

  If Captain Russell was concerned about the small spaces, he did not show it. The tall, blond haired captain had a rough-hewn face, a strictly non-regulation beard making him seem like one who would be more comfortable on a whaling ship than an interstellar vessel. His dark brown eyes seemed to take them both in for a moment, and then he nodded in greeting, gesturing to the two chairs that took up some of the limited space across from his desk. Clearly unused to having guests, the two examiners needed to clear some items off the chairs, placing them on the deck, before taking their seats.

  “Good day, Examiners,” Russell began, using the traditional spacer parlance of always thinking of it as day when he was awake. “How may I be of assistance to the Science Bureau? We found no unique artifacts in our last cruise that I am aware of.”

  From what Josiah had gleaned, that was quite the understatement. On their previous three cruises the Interstel cruiser Redoubtable had found no artifacts of note, and had come under attack twice, once on planet and once in space. They had brought back enough mineral wealth and data to keep them flying, but they were in the lower third of the most profitable vessels being flown among the stars at the moment, a concern that the captain must have been aware of.

  Vesor, however, did not correct him. “The Bureau would like to engage your vessel on a matter of some urgency, Captain.”

  Russell nodded, and gave a small, open-handed gesture. “I am intrigued. How can my ship be of assistance?” His tone was respectful, but made it quite clear who he thought was in command on board.

  "As you are no doubt aware, my division is specifically tasked with the recovery and analysis of unique artifacts that are recovered by the various Interstel vessels during their explorations. Three months ago, I dispatched a team to follow up on a report about a strange artifact on a planet classified XOM-3258c, a small golden egg that seemed to radiate its own power.” The captain seemed curious, focused on the senior examiner’s story, nodding for her to continue. "Unfortunately, they would never arrive. A catastrophic failure in their drive system forced them to set down on a planet in a nearby system. It was listed as a prime candidate for habitation, and they felt that they could wait out the situation until rescue could be sent. A single message was transmitted to us that they had landed, and we heard nothing more. "

  Once again, Russell nodded, but this time it had a serious edge. Such situations were hardly new in the realm of interstellar exploration, and it sounded like one of several calamities that continued to make livelihood so hazardous. “Is there any idea of what could have been the issue?”

  "No. The lead examiner with the team, Ajyenn, remarked in the message about potentially aggressive species of fauna, but that they were not too concerned.” The examiner paused for a moment. “That was our last contact.”

  The captain leaned backwards; his expression curious. "You stated that the planet was listed for colonization... normally such a classification would not be granted if there were dangerous life forms present, flora or fauna.”

  The senior examiner gave a rare nod of approval, clearly pleased that he had picked up on that. "You have come to the root of my dilemma. The planet was cleared for colonization, but it appears that might have been inaccurate. That led me to do some additional research on my own. It appears that this is not the only planet that has been placed into consideration for colonization where the situation seemed... ill-advised."

  "I suspect there is something more to the story, but that you have not divulged yet."

  Vesor nodded again, and Josiah was now fairly sure he saw a gleam of approval in her eye, a feat that he himself had rarely achieved. "You are correct. Before we lost contact with the team on the planet, we received a partial message that they found an Interstel claim marker, but that it did not contain any data in regards to the previous survey.”

  This caused Russell to straighten, and it was clear he realized the import of exactly what she was saying. The Interstel system was a corporate one: Only the best helmed their starships, and the rewards were as incredibly lucrative as the risks were great. However, it was also a position of great trust. Due to the dearth of interstellar starship fuel, it was important that colonies and expeditions were placed with the utmost care. It was expected that every explorer captain made a full and complete survey of the planet to the best of their abilities before sending back a probe for additional support, and a copy of the original survey was left with an automated claim marker on the planet. While sometimes a particularly valuable object or artifact may make for a riskier mission, there was no reason why corners should be cut for a standard planetary survey.

  "That is a... very concerning thought, Examiner."

  Vesor nodded. "That was my conclusion as well. I feel that it is in the vital interests of both the Bureau and Interstel as a whole to look into the matter, hence our arrival.”

  Russell looked thoughtful for a moment, clearly taking it all in. "I believe that this would traditionally fall under Interstel security jurisdiction, however. As a senior examiner, you should certainly be able to enlist their help."

  “That is true.” Vesor replied, but her eyes stayed locked on the captain. “However, due to the nature of my concern, I thought it important that I gather more information by reaching out to other departments.”

  A flash of understanding seemed to light in Russell’s eyes, and this time it was Josiah’s own turn to nod. If someone was attempting to make money off of surveys that had not been completed, the easiest way to ensure that there was not an issue was if they had an accomplice in the Interstel government. While Security was probably not involved, there was always the chance that someone they reported to was.

  Russell quietly considered the situation for several moments before speaking again. "Before I can even consider such a proposal, I have some questions of my own."

  The senior examiner nodded once. "I expected as much. Proceed."

  "What is going to happen to the artifact that they went to recover?"

  Josiah attempted to keep the disdain from his face at the mercenary answer. Was profit all the captain cared about? The moment was fleeting, but a momentary frown must have flashed on his face, for the captain gave him a careful look. “I only ask to see if the artifact may be involved in the situation.”

  Vesor seemed to take the statement at face value. "A secondary team is being prepared to retrieve the artifact. They will be transported on one of the alternative research vessels available at the moment."

  "Not the one that originally surveyed the system, I trust?"

  "No," came the simple reply.

  "Fine. What is the remit that you are putting out here?"

  "I will pay your regular fee, plus expenses, to investigate the planet, confirm the status of the previous expedition, and provide me with any information about the previous survey. If you uncover something actionable, I will take further steps from there. Is that acceptable?"

  “One last question.” Russel replied, glancing between the two examiners. “Why the Redoubtable? There are three other ships in dock at the moment, surely any of them could have done just as well.”

  “Surely it is obvious.” The senior examiner responded. “The ship that surveyed the system was yours.”

  For a long moment, the captain was speechless, and then his first instinct was to deny it, but the senior examiner already had the data prepared, sending it to his console. “System CRM-4402 was surveyed by the Redoubtable on your second to last cruise. It was one of six systems you visited before your unfortunate encounter, and one of three systems that you submitted for colonization.”

  “That is preposterous,” The captain replied, finally calming down enough to be rational. “We found no planets worth colonization on that cruise.”