Chapter 17 - Perforating
After quickly ducking to be hidden from the windows, Aerialus saw the faint blue beam do a search scan through the kitchen. Keeping still and holding her breath, the light began going back in the other direction. Deciding to escape, she crawled to the other doorway that led to the living room. Once passed the wall, she got herself behind it. Letting the air out she was holding, her mind was racing.
'...' she slowly stood up. Leaning her back against the wall, she put her hands on her head. Her face felt tensed as her pulse was elevated to the same intensity as it was when waking up from the terror dream.
'A nightmare...then that scout stalking,' the Baklavaian thought. Rubbing her temples, she got off the wall and headed quietly to the stairs.
'I just need to go back to bed...and wait until morning.'
'If I do that...I will be safe and work on forgetting what happened,' Aerialus told herself. Walking up the small three steps and getting to the base of the larger staircase, she stopped. Despite feeling far enough away from being spotted by the laser, she looked at the front door. How she felt now was not the same a few minutes ago.
'...there was...something there...and now it is gone,' she wondered. Shaking her head and cringing from feeling her mind hurt, she began ascending the steps.
'I just need to go to bed...and try to sleep.'
'I'll wake up tomorrow...and go about my day like nothing happened,' she reasoned.
Nodding to no one, she reached the top of the stairs. Going to her room door, she slowly opened it. Trying to not make too much noised, it seemed to make everything amplified in a still house. Getting inside and closing her door, she headed to her bed. Not even looking at the window, she knew the drapes were closed. Crawling into the sheets and pulling them up to her chin, she stared at the ceiling.
'...I just need...to relax...not think about anything...focus...on relaxing...' the woman repeated to herself. After a couple of minutes, her eyes became heavy. Letting them drop and her mind to go blank, sleep eventually took over.
"..." Aerialus opened her eyes fully.
Feeling like she had only closed her eyes to do a lethargic blink, daylight was seeping in through her window. Not moving, she shifted her eyes around her room. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, she stopped at her window. The blinds were still closed and there was no visual cue of frost around the edges. Feeling awake, she slowly sat up. Waiting for a minute or so, nothing happened.
'Did I sleep?' the Baklavaian wondered.
Moving the strains of hair away from her face, she slowly got out of bed. Looking back at the window, nothing felt foreboding about it. Shaking her head, she opened her room door and exited. Traveling down the steps in her bed attire, the other occupants were not up. Not particularly concerned, Aerialus reached the living room. Spotting the digital clock on a small stand, it was the normal time she would get up.
'Hours pass...but no dream occurred...how strange,' the woman remarked.
Feeling herself go on autopilot, she traversed to the kitchen. Upon entering, the beverage she poured earlier in the morning was still there. Stopping at the doorway and recalling the event, she waited to see if something would happen. After several moments, nothing occurred. No spy light beam came through the windows. Carefully getting in front of the counter and waiting, still nothing happened.
Despite not feeling that she was in the clear, she took the glass and poured the contents into the sink. Turning the water on and rinsing it out, the left-over residue from the drink slowly went away. Now clean, her ears picked up a distant sound. Stopping and shutting off the water, she listened again. The sound pitch was familiar from the number of times hearing it.
'An EM medical truck...this early in the morning,' Aerialus remarked feeling a tad bad for the ill individual affected.
Choosing to ignore it and continue with her morning routine, she made herself a hot beverage. Grabbing something small to eat, she went back to the living room. Setting herself down on the couch and placing her appetizer on the coffee table, she turned on the TV. Turning the volume down and putting on subtitles, she began to go through channels. Stopping at one channel and watching for some minutes, another siren was going off in the distance.
'...' the Baklavaian pondered looking unfocused at the television. Listening to the winding sound, it seemed to come north-west if facing towards the sea. Slowly, it moved left to right getting only marginally louder. When it seemed to be a few streets down to the east of her host family's home, she turned her head right.
Facing the direction of the kitchen, she stared for a minute. Despite having wondering thoughts, her mind told her that it could be anyone in the suburbs given the amount of residency. Turning back to the TV, she turned the channel to the news. After a few minutes, the normal news anchors came on to talk about the top news of local and national affairs. Listening mildly, Aerialus ate her small amount of food. Picking up her beverage, she took a sip.
[Thanks for that Phil] the left news anchor commented. The screen changed back to the main stage with the counter and characteristic background.
[Always good advice to keep up with vaccinations]
[Sure is. Especially during this time of year in New York] the right person agreed with a short smile. About to open her mouth, she paused for a second or two. It seemed like something was being said through her earpiece.
[I've just been told that we have breaking news of a crime scene at one of our suburbs outside of downtown. We have one of our news crews on the scene. We will turn it over to our reporter there. Rachel, are you there?] she asked. A small screen near the two came on and showed a female human reporter. She was standing on the outskirts of a barrier that was set up by the local law enforcement. There were no sirens for the fire trucks, paramedics, or police; however, all the vehicles' lights were flashing casing colorful splashes of red and blue everywhere.
[Yes. I am here. Local response teams arrived on the scene about 15 minutes ago. One of the homeowners called emergency services regarding a murder scene outside their home. The area of interest wasn't on the ground, but up in a tree.]
"..." Aerialus stopped in mid-drink. Staring, she blinked a couple of times and listened carefully.
[The local fire department is using one of their vehicle's ladder extensions to get to the murdered individual seemingly hanging from a tree branch] the reporter continued. Turning around and pointing, the camera moved right a little and up. The sight of the human workers climbing the extension ladders were seen. The height of where the person of interest was between 2-3 stories up.
'...that seems like...' the Baklavaian thought while frozen. Feeling her eyes intensify, she felt herself beginning to tense up.
[Unfortunately, we can't show the entire scene] the human mentioned. The camera moved again to be back facing the reporter.
[Not only have the police blocked off the area, but the scene is too explicit to show]
[Can you tell us a bit more about the victim?] the left news anchor asked. Both employees looked focused and attentive.
[From what I have seen and have been told, the victim is an alien male. The particular accessory found was a blue laser pointer which made the police wonder if it was a scout of some sorts...but the individual when found was lynched on a branch...and...cut in half from the waist down. The emergency responders found the bottom half at the base of the tree with its intestines still attached to the upper half]
"...!?" Aerialus's eyes bulged and began to shake. Flinching from getting too much hot beverage on her lip, she prevented herself from dropping the drink. Putting the mug on the coffee table, her vitals began to increase.
When the sun rise was occurring, Fiona had not moved from her spot in the high tree she was in. Waiting until the first small wave of commuters had gone by, she began packing her makeshift camp site. While doing so, she heard sirens in the distance. Focusing more on getting her things together, she was able to completely gather everything. Looking down, there was no one at the base of the tree. About to get her binoculars out to see if there was anyone watching from windows, another siren was going off in the direction of the sea.
'No distractions...I need to get to the previous tree post,' she told herself.
Doing a thorough scan of the neighborhood, she confirmed that no one was standing at their windows looking toward the street. Getting the gravity climber gear back on, she descended the tree. Getting to the ground, she walked normally on the sidewalk. Continuously scanning around her, there still was no indication of observers. Reaching the previous tree and doing one more look around, she began climbing the tree.
Reaching where she was previously, there were no written messages seen on any of the branches. Sighing a little in relief, the Baklavaian began to setup her camping site again. Upon finishing and sitting down, she stared forward. Seeing the other side of the house Aerialus stayed in, the neighbor's home was now in view. Looking at how empty it appeared to be, she was getting distracted by the flashing and strobing-colored lights in the distance.
Looking up to view where the illumination was, it was a few street blocks away from her location. Getting out her binoculars and viewing the scene, there were different colored vehicles blocking the road. Recognizing the color for each one representing a different department, it was the yellow tape that outlined the base of the tree that stood out. Seeing the humans in brown heavy jumper suits with reflective neon yellow tape bands on their sleeves and pants, they were getting on ladders. Extended to be at a certain height to a tall tree, they began to climb.
'...that's...where the Primusian scout is,' Fiona thought.
Doing a quick glance, she confirmed that it was the same individual that she spotted very early in the morning. Putting her magnifying tool down to not be spotted, her eyes drifted towards the host family home. Thoughts of Aerialus knowing seemed farfetched given that she wasn't allowed to leave the home alone. Glancing over to the neighbor's house on the left, nothing was different from looking at it on the ground. Glancing at all the windows, there were no drapes seen; however, it seemed still dark inside the home.
'I doubt the Captain would be up to answer...maybe I can wait...' she pondered then stopped. The first window she looked, there was nothing there. Looking bac at it, two sapphire colored orbs were there. The sensation of something staring at her sent a cold shiver down her spine. Blinking, they were gone.
"..." Fiona pressed her lips together. Going into her gear bag, she got out the communicator device. Shifting slowly to another tree branch, there was enough coverage to block the view of that house.
In the Primusian slave ship, the Captain came back a couple of hours ago. Commander Utern, who was asleep, was summoned to meet Olton at the landing bay by the leader himself. Once arriving with a frown on his face, the Captain started a cheery conversation. He explained that the meeting with the humans went better than expected and slurred that the native species were too gullible. Escorting the leader to his quarters, Olton kept yammering on about plans. The one aspect that he repeated was that the inhabitants on MW-3 had too good of mind numbing liquor.
"..." Utern commented watching the commander enter his quarters. Not making it to his bunk, Olton fell face flat onto the floor. Still frowning at the sight, the 2nd in command press the keypad to close the hatch.
Instead of returning to his quarters to go back to sleep, he went to the bridge. Agitation seemed to keep him awake followed by hunger. Following up with the graveyard shift crew, everything seemed to be in order. Traversing to the communications room, he began to read reports that were coming in. The aspect that there was both comms traffic from high council and human legislative seemed interesting. Spending time to read a couple, one of the crewmembers spoke.
"Commander. There is a call coming in. Seems to be the Baklavaian slave scout."
"I'll take the call," Utern responded. Getting out the mobile device, he attached a module on it to work with Primusian equipment. Nodding to the individual, he inputted a couple of commands on the control panel. Seeing the device that the slave was using, he pressed a button then put it to his ear.
"Commander Utern speaking," he answered with a deadpan voice.
[S-1057: Fiona. Reporting] the female Baklavaian spoke sounding tense.
"What do you have to report?"
[...the Primusian scout...to monitor me and Aerialus...was killed]
"...!?" the 2nd in commander recoiled a little and blinked. "Killed?"
[Yes sir]
"Call the yeomans," Utern ordered sternly getting all in the room to stop and look at him. "I want a status roster of every crewmember on this ship. On the double."
"Yes commander!" the men and women responded in a chorus. Seeing the leader's face cringe from them doing that, they started making calls and inputs at their controls.
"Is what you say true slave? Because if it isn't...you will be punished."
[I have setup the video module that is pointed at the scene sir. Frequency 84.0A22] Fiona replied neutrally.
"You," he stated and pointed. Seeing the person stop and turn around, he continued.
"Open a visual for frequency 84.0A22."
"Aye aye sir. Opening visual for frequency 84.0A22," the crewmember repeated. Within a minute, a video screen appeared on one of the monitors. Staring at it, it showed a magnified view of what looked like emergency responders at a community of human habitants. However, it was the ladders that were extended up to the tall trees that caught his eye. Seeing one of the humans grab hold of the top half of a male body, Utern could identify who it was.
'...that's the high council's...' he muttered in his mind. The sight of it being ripped in half where the intestines were still attached to the lower half at the base of the tree, did not make him uncomfortable. Crossing his arms over his chest, he stared at the video. Trying to think of what enemies were here known to the Primusians, nothing was coming to mind.
'All other species that visit this planet...are either neutral or do business with our race.'
'Humans...see us as strangers though negatively due to our use of slavery.'
'But to kill a scout that high in the tree...without setting off any sensors that scout's carry,' he pondered then narrowed his eyes. The humans were bringing the top portion of the corpse down while another gathered all the materials that were set up in the tree branches.
"S-1057. Is there anything else to report?"
[No sir] Fiona responded.
"Sensors showed that you moved to a further location...and now are back to your previous post...why did you not report about that?"
[...Captain Olton found out and informed me to return to my previous post at the event yesterday evening...he gave me a...threatening warning] she explained as normally as possible. [As I told the Captain...I don't have an excuse for not reporting the change. Upon his orders, I have moved back to the first post]
'That...is surprising,' Utern remarked in his mind.
[Captain Olton also gave a threatening warning to S-0923 as yesterday's event as well]
"..." the 2nd ranked leader blinked a couple of times. Not showing an expression change, he adjusted his arms a little.
"I see. If the Captain has already warned you, I will not repeat it. Remember your daily report time frame and...do not stray."
[Yes sir]
"Dismissed," he stated before the link was cut. Bringing his arms down to his side, he announced to all that were in the room.
"Has the yeomans been given their task?"
"Yes commander. They are conducting the roster now."
"Good. Call the Master at Arms," he ordered. Seeing on the crewmembers doing the task, one of the intercom mobile devices buzzed. Watching the person answer, he turned toward him and handed the phone.
"Master at Arms."
[Commander. What is thy command?] an older sounding man spoke.
"One of the high council's scouts has been killed. The humans are gathering the equipment at the location of murder. Retrieve them with a squad. Do not return until that equipment is recovered. Intact or damaged."
[Aye aye Commander. Consider it done] the individual responded to what sounded like amusement.
"..." Utern pulled the device away from his ear. Handing it back to the comms person, he stated for them to update him when the yeomans finish their task. Leaving the room, the leader began walking back to someone's quarters.
'Something...doesn't seem right,' he mused. Putting his hands behind him, he had one on top of the other while walking.
'Does the high council know already...or no?' he wondered.
Changing his destination a little, he went to the strategic room that was down the hallway of the command center. Entering it, there were a couple of crew members at posts. Also, three Baklavaian slaves were conducting cleaning on the floor and avoided his gaze. Thinking nothing of them, he went to a separate room connected to the strategic chamber. Closing the door, he headed toward one of the monitor panels.
'I doubt the council will respond,' Utern thought. Sending a request for a teleconference with a short description, he waited. Within 10 minutes, there was a reply. Upon accessing to read the message, he was being hailed from an internal source. Pressing a button on the panel underneath the monitor, he spoke.
"Commander Utern speaking."
[Commander. We are being hailed by the Primusian High Council] a comms person informed with a stiff voice.
"Patch the call to the strategy storage room."
[Aye aye sir]
"..." the leader adjusted his shoulders and let his arms hang at his sides. The large screen in front of him changed from showing data to a visual of the three counselors.
[Commander Utern...is your message true?] the middle one asked.
"Yes counselor. It is. I have seen visual of the scene given by our Baklavian slave scout."
[How did this happen?] the female individual demanded. [Was it the humans?]
"Based on the method of the scout being slain...not likely," he answered. Moving his hands behind him, he held one on top of the other.
[Explain] the third high ranking person at the honorable desk in the video spoke.
"The Primusian scout was separated in half. Above the waist was left in the tree while the lower half was at the base. The only thing keeping the two attached was its lengthily intestinal tract."
[...] the three in the video stared. The middle one cleared his throat.
[The humans have hunting tools to rip a body in half]
"That may be counselor...the scout was 30 to 45 feet high in the tree...all scouts are trained to awaken from anything approaching it within 5 feet if asleep," Utern remarked.
[Are you saying that the humans are not the culprits?]
"Perhaps they are...but based on the evidence of the scene and to what is known knowledge of our soldiers' capabilities are...it begs to question if an inferior species has the methods to kill without leaving a trace."
[...] the three counselors turned toward each other and murmured.
'I will have to seek our analysts to examine the body,' the commander thought to himself. 'Humans have projection weapons...but they would create punctures and impact...none are slash based...and there was no damaged to the towering plant bark.'
[Does Captain Olton know about this development?] one of the counselors asked.
"He had returned from a meeting with human adminstrators and legislators a couple of hours ago...from what he stated before passing out...it was a favorable transaction."
[If what you say is true...then your deduction of human involvement being low is sound] the female individual concluded.
[Then...do we have one of our enemy races here?]
[Has there been any indication on your scanners of enemy flag ships or vessels at bay or in orbit commander?]
"There has not been any activity on the monitors or radars counselor. Especially since being docked at this planet."
[...I see...] the other male informed. The three murmured to each other again while the 2nd in command stared at them. Their silent discussions amongst themselves made him squint his eyes at them.
'They will send another...will it be stationed in the vicinity of the scene...or will it be an assassin to eliminate the unknown threat?'
'The only oddity that sticks out is...that neighbor both Baklavaians have mentioned,' Utern concluded and relaxed his eyes. 'Even remote scans and monitoring of that individual did not reveal anything to show it is foreign to this planet.'
[Given this development commander...we will come up with new orders to correct this outcome. Inform your Captain when he is ready. Expect to hear from us again soon]
"Aye aye counselors," he stated with a nod. Watching the screen go back to its normal preset monitoring, the Primusian leader left the room.
'If they are taking control of the situation...then something is going on in the background,' Utern concluded with a small frown.
A couple of days passed since the murder incident. While the news tried to get more information about the victim and to which humanoid race it belonged to, the local government gave generic responses to the public. Stating that the local branch of the alien race has requested to collect all evidence given that this was now their matter. Reporters began asking if there was part of a crime organization or a band of anti-alien individuals. The authorities reiterated of the information that is known and that the Primusian authorities have taken over the investigation. They also stated that law enforcement will commit their support to the Primusians if they need additional information regarding the murder.
For both Aerialus and Fiona, the past 2 days have been tenuous. Sue and Howard were a bit surprised given how the neighborhoods around them typically do not have much crime. Robert pondered the aspect that it was possible that it was caused by an anti-alien group or homeowners that spot the person high up in the tree. Though the three seemed to get over the news without much effort, Aerialus was struggling. The aspect that a Primusian was murdered made her wonder if the Captain would call her back to the ship. A suspicion that she would be blamed for it kept repeating in her mind.
Fiona became more anxious and paranoid over time. Despite doing what she was ordered to do of reporting in, she felt that she would be recalled permanently. Part of her wanted to resist if that call comes. Another side of her felt that the ship was safer than outside currently. When nightfall came, the slave scout felt surrounded and as if someone was gazing at her. A cold dread telling her that something was waiting for the right moment to strike when she was not looking or coming down.
However, there was one thing that occurred the past two nights to cause Fiona ambivalence. It was the neighbor. Throughout the day, the house gave the same impression that it was empty. However when nightfall occurs, there would be faint shades of light coming from windows. It wasn't like a lamp in a room. More so a dimmed powered flashlight that would slowly move around. Thinking that it was the resident in the house doing the illuminations, she found out on the 2nd night that wasn't the case.
'There is that light again,' she thought not looking through binoculars. Seeing the light fade away, it seemed to reposition itself at another window. Thinking about it, she wasn't sure if the person in the building was trying to communicate or not. Deciding tonight to use her observation tool, she saw where the dull light stopped at. Looking through her device and focusing on the first filter, her eyes widen.
'That's...another Primusian scout...it wasn't the neighbor at all?' the woman thought in surprise.
'What is he or she trying to do? Find a way inside?' she wondered feeling her interest peaked.
'He is moving about again tonight as well,' Aerialus thought looking through her window. The blinds were partially open allowing her to see enough of the side and front of the next house that was facing her. When the illumination went away, her eyes began to search for any moving black silhouette. Bouncing from the windows she was able to see, there was movement near the front door. Darting her eyes there, the dull light came on and was put next to one of the front windows.
'...wait...that's not...' she wondered feeling her insides tighten. Blinking and feeling her eyes widen a little, the person was moving precisely like a scout or an assassin from the slave ship. Breathing more shallower, she glued her eyes to the intruder. The aspect that the lights from the neighbor's home were possibly not from him made her more nervous.
'...tapping on the windows...at this time of night...is it to see if someone is home?' Fiona thought. Moving swiftly, she grabbed an audio device and hooked it onto her ears. Feeling where the plug insert was on the binoculars, she pushed it in. Hearing a soft beep in her ears, she focused back on looking through her visual equipment. Within a minute or two, she heard the person speak.
[All windows locked from inside. Does not seem anyone is inside. No reaction from tapping on all windows] an unknown voiced whispered.
[Proceed with infiltration...look for anything unusual...Primusian high council orders] another person order on the line.
'Infiltration...why?' the scout slave pondered. Watching with anticipation, the Primusian scout was using a glass cutter to cut out a slot in the window. Once done so and moving the piece aside, the individual reached in. Unlocking and opening up the front door, the person slowly went inside. Not completely closing the door, it was left ajar.
'He broke in,' Aerialus observed.
Seeing the individual enter slowly and close the door not completely, nothing else seemed to stir. Despite wanting to go look through one of the windows, she kept looking around the house to see if there would be any movement of some kind. As if answering her, a side window of the home facing her showed something. Darting her eyes at it, something on the other side of the glass seemed to slither. Blinking, it was gone.
[Inside the house...beginning search] the Primusian scout announced in a low volume tone.
"..." Fiona pressed her lips together. Keeping still, she continued to watch and listen of what was happening. Changing to an infrared setting, she noticed a heat signature to the right of the house.
'It's on the second floor...Aerialus is watching,' she said in her mind.
Seeing her looking through a window, her head darted to the right a little. Moving the binoculars in the same direction, nothing was picked up. Blinking and staring, nothing seemed to occur. The only signature in the next home was the scout. Pushing her lips together and turning back to the scout, the person moved deeper into the home cautiously.
[Normal amenities seen in other human habitants...continuing search] the individual reported in a whisper.
'What did she...' the Baklavaian slave scout began.
Holding her breath from seeing movement, the front door's handle turned slowly. Not picking up any additional sound other than the mechanical parts gliding smoothly, the door closed completely. The handle returned to its normal position followed by the lock quietly being engaged. Going through all the filter settings in her reconnaissance tool, the only thing that was picked up was readings of sub-particles and low forms of radiation. There was no image of who or what was operating the door.
'What's going on...what's there?' Fiona wondered feeling paranoid. Going back to the infrared setting quickly, the one that had the normal magnify view came. In the split second she changed to the next filter, all the windows seen had a pair of sapphire-colored orbs floating and staring at her.
"...!?" Fiona flinched hard then remained still. Now in the night vision type setting, there was nothing seen at the windows. Feeling more than alarmed, she debated if continuing to watch was wise.
[Entering the kitchen area...no abnormalities found...continuing to...wait] the Primusian scout reported then stopped.
[What is wrong?]
[...something...is here...lurking...it's faint]
[Ambush the dweller of the home...bring them in for questioning]
[Aye aye]/[#$a#$y#$e#$a#$y#$e#$%] two verbal responses were heard through her headset. One was a normal tone while the other was static-like and deeper.
Her mind didn't process fast enough as she was still viewing where the Primusian was. Seeing it turn its head to the right, an unknown figure appeared to the left. Without warning or speaking, it ballooned then encompassed the slightly alerted intruder. For both Fiona and the other person on the line, both heard a faint short shout in the house followed by nothingness.