Chapter 14: The Warning
Johnathan had always wanted to be an Alhafran guard. He had followed around the guard when he could barely walk. When the other boys were playing at being Collosso Gladiators, or the Adepts of legend, Johnathan was always a guard in Alhafra. He had kept his obsession through his teen years, and applied as soon as he was allowed to, at age 16. He had passed Guard Academy with honors. He had been serving on the guard for four years without incident, when he found the dead woman. He was patrolling his ordinary route when he saw her. She was hard to miss.
Johnathan walked into the town square. He saw some sort of red liquid splashed around the area. He looked up at the statue of the Mayor, and saw her. A woman was suspended on the statue. She had been mutilated by some sort of blade, and Johnathan could see wounds that couldn't have been anything but fatal. That was when he noticed the words written in blood on the ground. They were in common script. Johnathan overcame his aversion and read them.
"Resistance is futile. -Alex"
Johnathan ran back to headquarters to report the incident.
Ivan heard about the incident at breakfast. He and Sheba were staying in the local inn. At breakfast, the other guests had been alive with talk of the murder and the message in blood.
"Did you hear?"
"What?"
"The Murder?"
"Of course."
"Who did it?"
"It was the Mob"
"Don't be stupid. It was the guard. Everyone knows they do the Mayor's dirty work!"
"You're stupid! It was those new Adepts!"
"It was the Proxians!"
"It was not! It was the Lemurians!"
"What was the message?"
"Probably some insane ramblings."
"Don't be silly. It was the identity of the killer!"
"The Guard isn't letting anyone see it."
"Duh! It says they did it!"
Ivan was almost afraid to go look at it. However, Sheba wasn't about to let it go. It sounded like the type of thing that Alex would do.
They left the inn and walked towards the Guard building. They ran into the guard fairly quickly.
"Halt! What do you want?" The Guard asked.
"Do you know who was killed?" Sheba asked.
"I'm not allowed to give you that information." The Guard said. That wasn't a problem for two Jupiter adepts. However, a quick probe of his mind proved that he knew nothing about the murder.
"Can we see your commander?" Sheba asked.
"Er... Yes, I think." The Guard said, "Right this way."
The Guard led Ivan and Sheba into the building. They were led to a nice looking office. It was utilitarian rather than pretty, but a trained observer could tell that whoever used it knew what they were doing. Behind the desk sat the local guard commander.
"Who are you, and what do you want?" He asked.
"My name is Sheba, and this is Ivan. We're trying to find out who was murdered yesterday." Sheba said.
"To be honest, we have no idea. None of the guard had ever met her, and her corpse was almost unrecognizable." The Guard captain said.
"Can we try?"
"I suppose. What have we got to lose?"
The Guard captain led them to a small room. On a table, the corpse was laid out. It had been painstakingly moved from the square, and the Guard was awaiting the Adepts who would try and figure out what happened. Ivan took one look at it and gasped.
"Hamma!" At that point, he fainted from shock. Sheba managed to keep conscious, but only just.
"You know her?" The captain asked.
"Yes." Sheba replied grimly, "It's Ivan's sister. I also know who killed her."
And that's the end! For now.
Johnathan had always wanted to be an Alhafran guard. He had followed around the guard when he could barely walk. When the other boys were playing at being Collosso Gladiators, or the Adepts of legend, Johnathan was always a guard in Alhafra. He had kept his obsession through his teen years, and applied as soon as he was allowed to, at age 16. He had passed Guard Academy with honors. He had been serving on the guard for four years without incident, when he found the dead woman. He was patrolling his ordinary route when he saw her. She was hard to miss.
Johnathan walked into the town square. He saw some sort of red liquid splashed around the area. He looked up at the statue of the Mayor, and saw her. A woman was suspended on the statue. She had been mutilated by some sort of blade, and Johnathan could see wounds that couldn't have been anything but fatal. That was when he noticed the words written in blood on the ground. They were in common script. Johnathan overcame his aversion and read them.
"Resistance is futile. -Alex"
Johnathan ran back to headquarters to report the incident.
Ivan heard about the incident at breakfast. He and Sheba were staying in the local inn. At breakfast, the other guests had been alive with talk of the murder and the message in blood.
"Did you hear?"
"What?"
"The Murder?"
"Of course."
"Who did it?"
"It was the Mob"
"Don't be stupid. It was the guard. Everyone knows they do the Mayor's dirty work!"
"You're stupid! It was those new Adepts!"
"It was the Proxians!"
"It was not! It was the Lemurians!"
"What was the message?"
"Probably some insane ramblings."
"Don't be silly. It was the identity of the killer!"
"The Guard isn't letting anyone see it."
"Duh! It says they did it!"
Ivan was almost afraid to go look at it. However, Sheba wasn't about to let it go. It sounded like the type of thing that Alex would do.
They left the inn and walked towards the Guard building. They ran into the guard fairly quickly.
"Halt! What do you want?" The Guard asked.
"Do you know who was killed?" Sheba asked.
"I'm not allowed to give you that information." The Guard said. That wasn't a problem for two Jupiter adepts. However, a quick probe of his mind proved that he knew nothing about the murder.
"Can we see your commander?" Sheba asked.
"Er... Yes, I think." The Guard said, "Right this way."
The Guard led Ivan and Sheba into the building. They were led to a nice looking office. It was utilitarian rather than pretty, but a trained observer could tell that whoever used it knew what they were doing. Behind the desk sat the local guard commander.
"Who are you, and what do you want?" He asked.
"My name is Sheba, and this is Ivan. We're trying to find out who was murdered yesterday." Sheba said.
"To be honest, we have no idea. None of the guard had ever met her, and her corpse was almost unrecognizable." The Guard captain said.
"Can we try?"
"I suppose. What have we got to lose?"
The Guard captain led them to a small room. On a table, the corpse was laid out. It had been painstakingly moved from the square, and the Guard was awaiting the Adepts who would try and figure out what happened. Ivan took one look at it and gasped.
"Hamma!" At that point, he fainted from shock. Sheba managed to keep conscious, but only just.
"You know her?" The captain asked.
"Yes." Sheba replied grimly, "It's Ivan's sister. I also know who killed her."
And that's the end! For now.