Mystery Solved,
or Doc gets a date the hard way
"Town's that way." Firebird looked at Zach.
"I know. But the diamond mine is this way." He nudged his horse further along.
"You think someone killed him for Diamonds?" Doc asked.
"Only thing anyone could prospect for, according to Winslow."
"That sounds right." Doc looked back at Firebird. "My pin, he made it recently . . . few days before he died." She pointed to a red diamond pin in the shape of a bird. "But red diamonds are one of the rarites on our planet, right next to the black ones."
"So, we got someone who kills for money?" Doc shifted in the saddle, "This is going to be fun."
"Depends on your version of fun." Firebird drawled. "There's the mine." It was boarded up, but there were boards that were broken. "Inferno, did Jake come here?"
"Yes." The horse tossed its head.
"Okay, stay out here." Firebird looked at Zach.
"Captain, I know the mines just as well as the next Vwinzu resident. Amnesiac or no." Firebird dismounted. "I'm coming."
" . . . Very well, but stay close."
Inside the mine, there was nothing that showed it had been entered recently. Firebird took point.
"This tunnel's new." She frowned.
"Jake made it." All three of them jumped. Inferno stood behind them. "Not letting Birdie out of sensor range."
"Great, now I've got an over-protective horse, not enough I have three over protective men in my life." Firebird sighed. The trip into the tunnel took quite some time.
"There's light up ahead."
"Whoa . . ." Firebird blinked. The room was bright, and there were colored diamonds everywhere. "I don't believe this . . ."
"See why you call them Rainbow Diamonds." Doc was impressed. "What's that?" Something was glowing in a crack. Zack moved forward.
"Whoever killed Marshall wasn't after the diamonds."
"Then what?" Firebird blinked.
"They were after star stones." Zach pulled back. "There's an entire cavern full, just beyond that crack."
"Star stones?" Firebird blinked. "But . . . Vwinzu shouldn't have the capability for that. Soil and whatnot's been tested."
"Who did the testing?"
"Half a dozen prospectors and others, but the official report was done by some geologist," Firebird shrugged. "Guy's old and a little off his rocker."
"He lives on Vwinzu?"
"Yeah- you want to go talk to him, don't you?"
"If that's not a problem?"
"Only one that talks to him is Doctor Vic. Crazy Larry is kinda his own law unto himself." She sighed, "C'mon, Doc Vic lives just on the outskirts of town . . . Inferno, you need to hide your marks."
"Okay." Inferno obediently followed her out of the mine.
"Wilbur, some men came by." Voyager moved over to Doc. "They left as soon as they saw us."
"Walter, it's Walter." Doc muttered. "Did you get a good look at them?"
"No. Brute did, I think." Voyager glanced over his shoulder. "Why'd the Bird lady muddy Red's paint job? I thought he looked good." Doc just did a double take at his horse.
Firebird had made Inferno roll in the mud, to hide his unusual paint job. Now he was a blotchy brown all over. Zach frowned as he mounted.
"What's wrong, Captain?" Firebird replaced the saddle and bridle before she also mounted.
"Nothing, exactly, I just have a bad feeling about all this."
Doc Vic was an old man with a mustache and a beard. At one point, his hair had been red, as a few strands showed through the gray that had set in. He walked with a cane and was bent half over.
"Hello, Birdie, how's your memory?" He spoke with a slight Irish accent.
"Still gone, but I like my new memories just fine." Firebird smiled at the old man. "The galaxy rangers need to talk to Crazy Larry, can you get them in?"
"That old coot? I can try." The old man sighed. "No one ever stops in to say hello, they always want something . . ." He hobbled over to a one stable barn, and a red horse came out. "Can't garante he'll be in a talking mood, Easy, Red Alert." The horse kneeled down so the old man could clamber on. "Had to go up there anyway . . ." He grumbled to no one. "Best keep up . . . no dawdling, young'uns!" Firebird mouthed the word 'senile' to Doc and Zach. Riding took a bit, but they came to a large pond, with a lean-to shack against a rock wall. "Stay on back a bit . . . Larry! Oh, Larry! It's Doc Vic, here for your check up." He hollered at the shack. The door creaked open, and a old laser shotgun popped out. "None of that now, it's me!"
"I see three others . . . who they?" The old man's voice crackled a bit.
"Killer horse on the loose, anyone leaving town needs an escort." Firebird spoke up. "We were sent to protect Doc Vic." The door opened and a grizzled old man stuck his head out to look at her.
"Wimen shouldn't be anywhere but at home when there's danger. You best get inside till it's time fer you to scram." Firebird blinked, and then dismounted.
"Yes sir." She ignored Doc and Zach's look.
"Killer horse? Whose dead?" Crazy Larry allowed Doc Vic to check him out.
"Couple of Uni's, they hadn't gotten their name yet." Firebird glanced at something that looked like a child's toy while Doc Vic talked to Larry. "Only one human. Breathe deep a moment." Doc Vic listened to his heart. "Hmm, ol' ticker still sounds great. Don't you ever age inside?"
"Who was the humin?" Firebird spoke before Doc Vic could respond.
"Jake Marshall, the prospector." Crazy Larry's head shot up at that.
"That boy's dead?"
"Yessir . . ."
"Why?" Doc Vic looked surprised at Crazy Larry's interest.
"Don't know, we think he got killed 'cause he found something he shouldn't have. But no one can prove a thing." Firebird sighed. "Jake was all claiming to have found a new diamond shaft, even claimed this pin he gave me was made from the diamonds." She gestured to it. "He promised to show it to me . . . but the next day, he was dead."
"You two were close huh?"
"Yeah . . . I uh, liked him . . . a lot." Firebird blushed and ducked her head. "I'd love to find out why he was killed . . . no one would kill for the diamonds."
"Wimen shouldn't go poking their pretty noses into murders, little lady." Larry frowned. "That's a man's job." Firebird gave a nod.
"I guess you're right . . ." She was surprised when the old hermit gave her a hug.
"That's a girl . . . now, here's something for you to work on in yer home." Firebird gave Doc Vic a confused look as Larry pulled out a carved puzzle box. "Old family legend attached to that, but I'm too old to figer it out."
"Thank you sir, are you sure you want to give it to me?"
"Who else would I give it too?" He patted her shoulder. "Take care of yerself."
"So, what did we find out, other than the town character has a thing for pretty brunettes?" Doc looked at Zach and Firebird as they rode from Doc Vic's.
"Larry knows something." Firebird ignored their looks. "He changed the subject when I suggested that Jake wasn't killed for diamonds, gave me a line that women shouldn't investigate murders. That and . . . he had some children's toys under his bed."
"So?"
"He's never been married." She looked at them. "No relatives, no children, so why does he have used toys?"
"Uh . . . leftover from his childhood?" Voyager tried.
"Voyager . . ." Brutus muttered.
"Maybe . . . I think it's time for the Doctor to do some digging."
"You do that, I'm going to talk to the governor." Zach frowned. "I think we should re check the mine again. Tonight."
"Fine by me." Firebird shrugged. "I'll help Doc out. Our archives are kind of a mess."
"Alright, be careful." Zach halted Doc. "And looking through the archives is all you should do with her."
"You wound me, I'm not that bad." Doc grinned as he followed Firebird's lead. Zach shook his head.
"He's not that bad, and I like technology . . . No offense, Brutus."
"It's alright." Brutus was use to his human's grumblings about technology.
"Cozy little place, isn't it?" Doc remarked as he and Firebird entered the slightly burned building. "What happened?"
"Crown raiders. All government builidings are re-inforced against lasers and such, but they still get scorched." Firebird led him to the basement. There was one computer and files were put haphazardly all over the room. "Uh, Sawyer! You in here?"
"Here." A slightly rusty, green android popped it's head out of a door. "Has my request for more computers been filled? It's rather lonely around here."
"'Fraid not. What the devil did you do to yourself?"
"I was trying to repair my right leg . . . but it fell off . . . and I lost a hand." He looked a bit forlorn.
"Doc, you can use the computer to find the files, that should give you a number . . . I'm going to help Sawyer piece himself together." Firebird shook her head. "Sawyer! You were trying to repair yourself with a steak knife?! What the heck is this? An ice cream scoop?"
"I misplaced the repair kit, Housou."
"Misplaced- it's right here!" Doc shook his head as he got to work. Several minutes later, Firebird emerged with the android.
"So, how did it go?" Doc smiled as he tapped a few keys. Firebird just gave him a look.
"I'm afraid I'm not the most organized of androids, I keep loosing things or misplacing them." Sawyer looked around the room. "I haven't been able to re-file these files after that earthquake last year."
"Earthquake?"
"Happens once a year. There's a fault line by the diamond mine, the worse it gets here is things falling over. If that."
"Well, found the file number . . . now we just have to find the file." All three looked at the mess of files. "I guess we'll have dinner here as well." With the not-so-helpful Sawyer, the two started looking for the file.
"Is the governor in?" Zach asked Angora.
"No, He and Waldo went to city hall for some legality or another." Angora shook her head. "I don't expect them back anytime soon. If you'd like, I can help you."
"Thanks, I wanted to ask about the town." She nodded, and led the way to a small parlor.
"Go ahead, Captain."
"How close would you say the citizens are?"
"Fairly close, I'd say. We all rely on each other after all." Angora folded her hands in her lap. "But if you're asking does everyone know everything about each other, the answer is not very. Everyone has a few skeletons in their closets, to use an earthian phrase, no one tries to rattle them."
"Who were the first settlers?"
"Angorians, then the Kiwi, Uni, and Pallow settlers came. Humans came soon after that, but as you can see, there hasn't been a lot of humans to come this far."
"Housou's pretty recent, isn't she?"
"Yes, two years now. She and three men that accompanied her use to be pretty . . . haunted."
"Haunted?"
"Yes, like something from their collective past would find and hurt them. Housou especially. The poor dear never spoke of it, but she had the worst nightmares. It's probably a blessing for her to not have her memory."
"Anyone with a criminal record?"
"No. At least, not the way you think of them. We had Jake Marshall, of course, the Lawrence character who lives alone, we do have a couple Andorian criminals here, but they're here for community service. Honestly, we haven't had anything so bad as the rest of the league planets."
"And the recent arrivals?"
"Even if they did have them, they've more than paid their debt here. Bludd use to be so aggressive, but he's mellowed out quite a bit, Hunter and his brother are adept at keeping the peace, and Housou's been more than eager to help and re-learn things. They're not dangerous to anyone, unless it's a crown raider." Angora smiled fondly. "Anything else?"
"No, I think I'm good." Zach smiled and got up. "Thank you for your help."
"Captain Foxx," Angora stopped him before he left, "many humans have more to them than what is seen on the surface. You should know that better than anyone." As Zach left, Angora stayed seated, a small smile on her lips. "And," she whispered to herself, "sometimes humans have a hard time accepting those differences."
"Any luck?" Zach had gotten some equipment from Ranger One. Doc and Firebird met him at the Mine entrance.
"Yeah, you're not going to believe it, but Jake Marshall is Crazy Larry's son." Firebird sighed as Inferno, still mud colored, shook his head. "I don't know why I'm surprised, Jake always said that he had been born here. And his mother had taken him from here to Prarie, leaving his father behind."
"Hold up there!" Doc groaned as Sawyer the android came up on Firebird's spare horse.
"Who is that?"
"A very annoying Android." Doc muttered. "He heard I was capable of fixing almost any computer, and wants me to fix his memory chips."
"Why don't you?"
"Because it would take time right now, and I already told him I would do it tomorrow." Doc looked at Zach. "But he doesn't have any concept of time!"
"Sawyer, would you help me with this?" Firebird distracted the android from approaching Doc. That was sufficient in distracting the Android and keeping him quiet. Up until they actually entered the mine, and the tunnel leading to the star stones.
"Why are we going in the mine? It's been off limits for a long time." Sawyer spoke up from the front. "There could be cave ins and bad air- Ahh!!" The Android dove behind Firebird. Inferno tried to push forward, and for a brief instant, confusion reigned.
"Oh, my, god . . ." Firebird put a hand to her mouth. Crazy Larry was laying on the ground. Doc and Zach moved forward to check him.
"Looks like a heart attack." Zach sighed. "Sawyer, could you go to town and ask for assistance? Right away, please." Sawyer nodded, and practically ran out of the mine.
"Heart attack?" Firebird frowned. "But, Doc Vic said his heart was fine. He was old, but he was still healthy."
"You know, I've been meaning to ask, what's Doc Vic's full name?" Doc looked up.
"Doc Vic's full name is Victor O'Mega." She shrugged. "Had a Daughter that went off the straight and narrow, still talked about her fondly."
"Her name wouldn't have been Daisy, now, would it?"
"Uh, yeah, it is." Firebird blinked. "How'd you guess?"
"Housou, did anyone ever see Inferno attack?"
"Well, the only eye witness just said it was a red horse, never said it was Inferno . . . oh." Firebird went quiet.
"Red Horse . . . you know, it struck me as interesting that the Doc's horse and Inferno look a lot alike." Doc frowned. "I mean, Broncos are designed with stronger joints than regular robo-steeds. Red Alert's joints looked a bit out of place, if he was a normal robo-steed."
"So, Victor O'Mega killed Jake, Larry, and a couple others, for some shiny rocks?" Firebird sounded disgusted. "Why?"
"Outlaws in the league would pay through the nose just to get one good star stone. Daisy O'Mega included. I'm guessing Victor was going to give them to Daisy."
"That's correct, Ranger." A click of a gun made them turn. Doc Vic stood there, standing straight and tall with a crazy grin on his face. Several Blue aliens, like the one that had alerted the governor, stood with him. Inferno stamped his front hoof. "My little girl has grown up to be just like her mother, beautiful, strong willed, and capable of taking what she wants. It's a father's prerogative to make sure his daughter succeeds, by any means necessary."
"By killing people?"
"Lawrence and I were old friends, I convinced him to leave out the star stones in his report. He didn't really care why, but he humored me. It took quite some time to get the mines to stop being functional, took a lot of resources, gases, tools to make shoring and wood collapse, but then Jake came along. He found my shaft, started to take out diamonds . . . and found my little window to the star stones. Killing him was easy, who would care about a crazy prospector?"
"I would." Firebird glared. But Doc Vic continued on.
"Then I had to make sure Red Alert killed a few more, unwanted folks. Had to make sure Inferno was destroyed after all. But then you told Larry about Jake's murder. He got mad. Was going to take a star stone to the governor and spill everything. But I couldn't have that." He smirked. "Ah, I wouldn't touch those badges of yours, my boys here will shoot before you could get you hand to it."
"You won't fire those weapons in here, you'd cause a cave in." Zach moved a bit to cover Firebird.
"On the contrary, you can't use your thunderbolts." Doc Vic smirked. "Star stones and diamonds aren't easily destroyed by falling rocks. Humans on the other hand . . ."
"Save the melodrama." Firebird slipped out one of the knives hidden in her sleeves, prepped to throw.
"As you wish, Housou." A net dropped and entangled Inferno, a second entangled the rangers and firebird. "We'll deliver the horse to the governor. You three on the other hand . . . how shall I kill you? There really are so many ways . . . A programmed horse, a poison,"
"Firebird, can you use one of your knives?" Zach whispered as Victor O'Mega started to list the ways he could kill them.
"Wouldn't do much good, this is steel cable." Firebird felt the metal in her hands, debating about using her powers. If she did, then she'd lose any element of surprise. If she didn't, they would be dead.
"I think I know exactly what I'll do."
"So do we." The butt of a rifle hit his head and knocked him down. "Birdie, what part of stay in town do you not understand?" Hunter looked at her. Sheriff Wolfe shook his head as the aliens held up their hands.
"You don't own me, now get us out." She sighed. "Oh, and I was right about Inferno."
"I'm never going to hear the end, am I?" Hunter helped her out of the net.
"Not until I'm done milking it for all it's worth." She patted Inferno's neck. "Now can we go? I've got to give Inferno a bath."
"Finally!" Inferno followed her. "Mud's starting to scratch."
As Zach and Sheriff Wolfe talked about the case, Doc headed out to the govenor's stables. Firebird was busy cleaning the mud off Inferno and combing mats out of his tail and mane.
"He's looking better." Doc saw her flinch and smiled. "Relax, it's only me."
"Yeah, Inferno's agreed to be my horse. So that means he's going to get very clean, and hopefully stay that way."
"No promises Birdie." Inferno shifted his head so she could better get some mud in his neck joint.
"I know. So, they don't need you in the case file?"
"I already supplied information. I just came to see how you are."
"I'm fine. Doc Vic's behind bars, trial pending, Red Alert is going to be de-bugged, and I got a couple of friends out of the deal." She smiled.
"Well, when you get Inferno cleaned . . . how about you and I go for a ride?" Doc smiled. "I'd be honored."
" . . . I think I'd like that." Firebird smiled.
"Then it's a date- uh, plan." Firebird just laughed at his correction.
Sorry for the long wait . . . this chapter just wouldn't be written. I had to completely re-write it twice . . .
Next chapter should be up quicker . . . I hope.
Till then, Read and Review, especially review, I need the feedback.