FSE

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Chapter 5

Herik was parked across the street from the lieutenant's home. The lieutenant was home as Herik saw his vehicle parked in the driveway leading up to the house. He stared at the front door with such intensity that he thought for sure his anger should cause it to burst into flames a mere moment later. The lupari had a small medical kit at his side on the passenger seat. He had already applied a coagulant spray to his knuckles, which were bloodied after being smashed against the neishor's vehicle. He then wrapped a bandage around his hand and sealed it with some medical adhesive. The comm unit in his vehicle crackled to life and Milaj's voice came through to him.

"Please Herik, think this over. You have to be utterly sure of this before..."

"I'm sure. I was right there. He was talking to them about taking Amy. He was there with this freak of a neishor. There's no mistake. I couldn't get details from the neishor. I won't fail again with Tashk," growled Herik.

"Please, let me call up some backup for you. With other officers there this can be handled in the proper manner. I know you want Amy back and I want her to be safe too," pleaded Milaj.

"No," snapped Herik. "No one else Milaj. He has other officers loyal to him and in on his crime. I don't trust anyone from Center 12 at this time. Please, if you want to help keep me safe, don't get anyone else involved in this. I... only trust you now Milaj. Only you."

Milaj made a funny little sound over the comm, almost like a 'squeak' of joy. She finally said to him, "I understand. I promise to keep this in the dark for you. Though, it's really going to be awful if we get fired over this." She sighed heavily.

"I don't care if I get fired, as long as I get Amy back. I'll do what I can to keep you clean of any mess I make. Herik out."

He flicked the comm unit off, fetched his backup pistol, stowed it into his jacket pocket, and climbed out of his vehicle. The lupari strode across the vacant street, not a soul in sight to him at this time of the evening. He stepped up to the front door of Tashk's home and pushed the chime button to let him know someone was there. Herik shuffled in place, paws moving side to side, to keep warm. A chill night breeze blew by and made the lupari shiver for a moment. His ears twitched when he heard the sound of someone approaching the door. A light went on just beyond the door and Tashk's gruff voice called out.

"Who's there?" he asked. Herik heard the wariness to it. Tashk was clearly on edge from the night's events.

"It's me, sergeant Herik. I need to speak with you lieutenant. It's important," he said, doing his best to keep his composure. Herik could barely reign in his anger at the moment, hearing the lieutenant's voice set him completely on edge.

There was an uncomfortably long pause between Herik speaking and Tashk's reply. "About what sergeant? It's extremely late and I want to go to sleep. There is an abysmal amount of work to do tomorrow."

"It's about the missing human sir. Amy. I believe I have a lead that needs to be brought to your attention."

There was another long pause. Herik heard the sound of a drawer sliding open. There must have been a small table or desk right near the front door.

"I told you to stay off that case sergeant. Now follow my order and..."

Herik kicked at the door with all his might, smashing it open and splintering some of the wood door frame. The lupari drew his pistol and rushed in to see Tashk staggering back in surprise. A small pistol was in the other lupari's hand as well. Tashk brought the pistol up and aimed it at Herik, who did the same to him. Neither fired. Herik cautiously paced to the side, his gun never wavering off Tashk. He noticed that Tashk's hand was trembling. He was nervous, jittery, and looked at Herik with a trace of fear in his eyes. Herik immediately picked up a very strong scent of alcohol on the older lupari's breath.

"What the hell sergeant!?" he snarled at Herik. "Put that gun down right now! Are you insane?!"

"Where is she?!" roared Herik.

"What are you talking abou..." said Tashk, but Herik cut him off before he could finish.

"Cut the crap! Where is she? Where does the neishor bring the humans?"

Tashk's ears went flat and he looked even more worried. "How did you..."

"I was there! I followed you and heard you speak to the neishor. You son of a bitch! How could you do that? We're supposed to protect them! We're supposed to stop people from doing things like this to them! We took a vow to uphold the law!"

Tashk managed to work up the will to snarl back at Herik. "You think we can do that? You think we can really keep a vow like that all the time? You poor, naïve little bastard. I bet you still think the whole 'shining beacon of hope' speech you hear at graduation from Academy really is true. All that crap about working towards a bright future that everyone in the union can benefit from. That we can bring peace to the city if we all just work together."

"Yes," snapped Herik. "Yes I do."

"Well it's a lie! You know what I learned after all my decades as a peacekeeper? I learned that it's not the good people who run the Union. It's the corrupt bastards. The people with all the money hold the power. The sniveling bottom feeders we put away are just a distraction from the real ones who pull the strings. The civilians see us lock up these petty scum and feel relieved and at peace, while the real monsters stay free."

"Then why don't you expose them; lock them up as well?" snarled Herik. He still kept his pistol aimed at Tashk. His gaze never strayed from him for a moment.

"I tried once! I got my ass demoted after nearly getting killed for my efforts. Why do you think I'm still only a lieutenant? Someone makes sure I don't get any higher because I pissed off the wrong person. I'm in the exact position of authority to be of most use to him. So now, I do his dirty work and keep my mouth shut and collect the scraps he gives me. With any good fortune, I was going to have a nice little sum put aside for early retirement and get out of all this crap before I got myself killed." Tashk chuckled softly and shook his head a moment. "Looks like that's not going to happen now, is it sergeant?"

"No, it's not. You're going to have to answer for what you helped do. Tell me what it is exactly Tashk. Take this chance to redeem yourself, even if it's just a little bit. Who is doing this and why? Where can I find him and the neishor?"

"Gods kid, you really must love that little toy alien."

"Her name is Amy," growled Herik.

"I know. You talk about her so much it's burned into my damned brain," he snapped. Tashk stared at Herik a little longer in silence then lowered his arm. His gun hung down at the side of his thigh. Tashk slumped back against the wall and slid down until he was sitting. "Hell, I can't shoot you." He lowered his head. "You... remind me of myself over thirty years ago. Back when I used to believe it too."

Herik remained cautious and still kept his gun pointed at Tashk as he crouched down before the lupari. The edge to his voice was gone when spoke next. "Please lieutenant. Please, you have to help me. I couldn't get the information out of the neishor. He... he almost killed me. I had to run. You're my only lead. I can't lose her Tashk. She's all I have left."

The older lupari nodded slowly. "The neishor is Gaddol. Ex-special forces elite from the good old UTO military services. We made that monster. He works for a ralai by the name of Em'hrar Nashurr. He's one of the richest faces on this world kid; deals in imports and exports and has a net value of billions of credits. He has law enforcement, politicians, and other figures of authority in his pocket on about a dozen worlds."

"So he's the one who's doing this? He's having humans abducted across multiple planets?"

Tashk nodded slowly. "You must have had this brought to you by that viliti, what's her name, Milaj. That's it. Smart as a whip that one, just kind of... well, spacey," he said as he waved his hand in circles at the side of his head. A lopsided grin was on the older lupari's face.

"Yeah, she told me about it. So this Em'hrar is snatching up humans?"

"Yeah kid. He is. He has other humans working for him that go into their tiny toy settlements and pluck them out of their homes at night. They look for single people, people that won't be missed as much. But they have to match Em'hrar's particular... tastes... at the time," said Tashk with a look of disgust on his face.

"What do you mean tastes?" Herik asked slowly as a queasy feeling crept into the pit of his stomach.

"I mean they have to fit a certain look. Sometimes he wants a female blonde with blue eyes. Another time he wants a dark skinned male with no hair. Sometimes old, sometimes young, his choices are all across the board. I don't know why he picks them or how, it's just what he does."

"What does he do with them Tashk?" asked Herik, his voice sounding more anxious now.

"He... he's into Subjugation," said the lupari slowly, looking down at his empty hand and his pistol as they both rested on his lap. "I mean... I don't like humans much at all. Got no use for a toy race. Look at them, tiny and helpless. We had to save their asses from the rynar. They brought nothing to the Union except their weapons technology. Like we need more destructive weapons, right? If they weren't so small, they'd be little more than a drain on all our resources. That said, what he does to them... they... they don't deserve that." Tashk shook his head side to side slowly. "They don't deserve it."

"What does he do lieutenant?" Herik's voice rose high, almost cracking. He felt fear creep into him as he saw the look in Tashk's eyes.

"He made me watch," Tashk whispered. He met Herik's gaze and the older lupari's eyes were wide and wild looking. "He said I'd only understand if I tried it. That I couldn't know for sure unless I tried it. I heard the tiny screams..."

Herik stared in mute silence. He could not believe what he was hearing. It had to be wrong. Tashk had to be trying to scare him or something.

"What he made me do for him. All those... my fault," whispered the lieutenant. "Now it's all over. They'll lock me away forever, but I don't deserve that. Neither does he kid. Herik, don't let them put him in prison. Not for what he's done. Not for that."

Tashk raised his pistol to his head and put the barrel into his mouth in one swift motion.

"NO!" screamed Herik as he moved to grab the lieutenant's arm. He was too late. The weapon fired with the sharp crack common to the energy pistols. The wall behind the lupari's head had little to no blood on it, but a significant hole burned through it. Tashk's body slumped to the side and his pistol fell out of his hand and onto the wood floor.

Herik dragged himself to his paws, reeling at what he just witnessed. The lupari backed up from the body and shut his eyes tight. For all his faults, he knew Tashk was a strong lupari with a near indomitable will. Whatever he was part of, what he had witnessed, drove him to this and caused Herik to question exactly what he had fallen into right now. He would not back down, but he had to approach this cautiously. Too much was at stake and this ralai he now knew of must be some manner of monster to do these things.

The lupari exited Tashk's house, pausing at the front door to catch his breath and steady himself. He quickly moved to his vehicle and got in. Herik drove to Center 12 over the course of a half hour, his mind racing the entire way. His vehicle skidded into the parking lot across the street from the Center and came to a stop. He trotted the short distance to the Center, scowling at the brisk wind and chill night air of the evening. His thoughts were still a jumble in his head and he paid no attention to any of his fellow late night peacekeepers. The only destination he had on his mind now was Milaj.

Herik stepped into the lift and took it to the third floor as he had earlier. For a brief moment he had a bad feeling sweep through him. He did not know who among his peers had been working for Tashk, and consequently the ralai. The neishor could have already made calls and informed them of his activities. Would they be willing to go so far as to try and kill him, a fellow peacekeeper, just to keep their crimes hidden? When Herik realized he had reached his floor and been standing in the lift for almost a minute the lupari quickly shook his head and stepped out into the expansive open hall.

He made his way past a few desks where other officers on the late shift were doing their work. There were very few of them, but Herik felt as it all their eyes fell upon him as he passed by. The lupari strode directly over to Milaj's cubicle and saw the viliti hunched over her yutri and looking over three different news feeds at once, while simultaneous playing a little game of some kind on her work station's computer. Herik reached over and grabbed Milaj's wrist. The viliti practically jumped out of her seat and made a comical noise of panic until she saw that it was Herik.

"Oh! Whew, sorry. You scared me there Herik. Next time could you... eep!" she exclaimed as the lupari pulled her out of her seat. Milaj barely scooped up her yutri and hooked it onto her belt. She hopped on one big paw then almost stumbled over them as he tugged her away from her work station and across the hall with him towards the lift. Once he led her into it and the door shut he let go of her wrist. Milaj went to speak, but Herik clamped his hand across her mouth. He shook his head side to side and softly shushed her. She slowly nodded and Herik lowered his hand from her mouth. The two of them reached the base floor and made their way out of Center 12 without another word.

Herik led Milaj by the hand down the wet streets of the city. They went three blocks away to an all-night eatery. Milaj new it well enough as she often took her lunch breaks there. It was a cozy little place with a few private booths and open tables. At the time it was at night, the eatery was all but empty, only a few haggard looking citizens drinking or eating something hot to get the chill of the evening out of them. The two of them slid into a booth and got comfortable after a few moments. Almost immediately a cute female tordenchi came over and took their orders. Herik went to order a coffee but stopped himself and instead got some soup while Milaj asked for her usual. When the tordenchi moved off Milaj finally spoke up in hushed tones.

"Herik, what the heck is going on? Why did you drag me out of my station? I can get docked pay for this."

The lupari slid his hands over and took hold of Milaj's hands in his. She glanced down then back up at him, a confused look on her face.

"Lieutenant Tashk is dead," began Herik. He went on to explain all the events of the night to Milaj. He told her what he overheard and about the brute of a neishor. He told her about how he fled and went to Tashk. He told her how he took his own life. The shocked expression on Milaj's face slowly faded to one of great sorrow.

"He still has peacekeepers in his service, under his thumb Milaj," said Herik. "I don't know who in Center 12 I can trust, except for you. This ralai Tashk named has to have a lot of influence across multiple worlds to pull this off. I need you to get me any and all information you can on him. I need to know where he lives, what property he has in the city, and what might be the most likely place he would keep any humans he's had captured for him."

Milaj nodded her head slowly. "A-alright. I can do that for you Herik. I just can't believe that Tashk is gone. He was... he was a little mean but I thought he was a good officer."

Herik squeezed her hands once more then released them. "He was. It's this ralai that made him do wrong."

The viliti nodded and pulled up her yutri. She flicked it on and took out a few additional modules and began to hook them into it. Herik did not recognize them at all and cast a curious glance at Milaj as she worked. She noticed his look and smiled at Herik.

"They let me patch directly into my work station at Center 12 and thus into the full database of Centers citywide. I know it's not allowed... but I like working at home sometimes. I built and programmed the modules myself." She had a proud little grin on her face.

The viliti brought up several holo-screens and started poring over the data that was there. Herik saw news articles, civilian records, property listings, and flight documentation among them. It was too much for him to take in all at once, his mind didn't work like Milaj's did. He could not multitask and speed read as she did regularly.

The food arrived as Milaj did her research. Herik took his soup while Milaj reached over and slid a plate with two huge slices of sweet cake and fruit before her. She also claimed a very tall glass of milk. The time passed and Herik did his best to remain calm. He occasionally looked about the eatery to make sure they were not being watched or there was no one suspicious lurking about. He knew it was slightly paranoid, but he wanted to take no chances. As more time passed, Herik began to tap his paw on the floor quickly. He stopped when he felt Milaj's much larger paw slide atop his and press down upon it, pinning it to the floor.

"No tap taps," she mumbled, "It's distracting." Herik felt a slight blush rush up into his ears. His tail swished behind him a little faster, sweeping across the seat cushion at his back.

More time passed and Herik saw Milaj finish off the last of her cake. He was really unsure where she put all of that inside her, but she managed it easily enough. With a loud slurp the viliti finished her drink and slid it aside. She spun her yutri around and pushed it before Herik.

"That is everything I was able to compile on the ralai you named Herik. Em'hrar Nashurr is seventy six years old, is of the ra'ihash sub-species of ralai, and has a net worth of sixty nine billion credits. That does not count the value of his company, Nashurr Transit Amenities. The company, of which Nashurr is the primary share holder and chief executive officer, is estimated at two hundred forty four billion credits in value and has a fleet of thirteen primary cargo vessels and ten hyper courier craft at its disposal. He employs over five thousand individuals across myriad worlds and has dedicated trade arrangements on fifteen planets along the most lucrative trade route in the UTO, the Amanua Shipping Lane. Nashurr is a known philanthropist to several causes, has an annual scholarship fund handed out to those aspiring to the medical profession, and sponsors several fund raising events on three world. He also gave generously in the development of New Eden here in the city. He has no current wife, his last one dying seven years ago. He has one daughter who is currently estranged from him."

Herik scowled as he looked over the data. "He sounds mostly perfect, but he's not Milaj. There has to be something here. What about the neishor who works for him?"

She pointed at a screen to the side. "Gaddol Edesk. He has served as Em'hrar's bodyguard and assistant for nine years. Ex-military with a dishonorable discharge for violent behavior, Gaddol served three years for beating a superior officer so badly he was in a coma for a month. He is a known madmannut, the neishor word for 'master,' of a popular hand combat style the species calls hunask."

Herik reflexively rubbed at his hand and grumbled, "Yeah, I kinda figured that out."

Milaj pointed to another series of screens. "Now here is where it gets interesting, where things start to fall in line Herik. This is a listing of all planets that the ralai's company regularly visits and the times of shipment arrivals and departures. Each of these worlds is among the list of those worlds that humans have gone missing from in the last four years. Every time a human has disappeared it falls within ten days before or after the arrival of a hyper courier ship from Nashurr Transit Amenities. Said courier always is carrying some manner of luxury items onboard and checks clean, however it is highly probable that a being as small as a human could be smuggled through any checks or scans."

"I suppose bribes could help that along nicely as well."

Milaj nodded. "Exactly. The couriers always make a return trip here, regardless of the last world they were on."

"So the ralai lives here?" asked Herik, sounding anxious now.

She nodded again. "Yes. He has multiple residences across the world, but his primary one is in this city, or rather, on its outskirts. The address is here. I would think it highly unlikely that he would keep the humans in his home though Herik. If he really is behind all this, then these two storage facilities of his are the most likely of locations. He could always claim he was unaware of illegal activities within them. What I don't understand though is why? Why would he do this? Capturing humans, likely killing or torturing them, it makes no sense. He has everything. He has constant health record listings and his psychological profile shows no aberrations at all."

Herik frowned. He glanced at the data then back to Milaj. "Milaj, does the word Subjugation mean anything to you?"

The viliti looked up slowly and stared at Herik. "Where did you hear of that?"

"I forgot to mention it. Tashk said something about the ralai being into Subjugation. What is it? Is it important?"

"I read about it. It's an ancient philosophical practice held by the ralai. It was common among them thousands of years ago, pre-technological revolution of the species. Today, it's followed by less than one in ten million ralai. Those who do follow it are often looked upon as upholding the traditions of their race and seen as either throwbacks to an older time, or paragons."

"Is there anything about it that could lead to him doing... all this?" Herik waved his hand at the data of the ship travel times.

Milaj nodded slowly. "Yes, yes it could. Subjugation is the belief that one must experience all that there is in life in order to truly understand it and one's place in it. Without 'subjecting' yourself to something you cannot be sure you like it or not, if it should be a part of your world. Thus, followers of Subjugation try literally everything they can. Every type of physical and cerebral activities, the tasting of foods of all kinds, engaging in endless dialogue on preferred actions, seeing every kind of video imaginable; nothing is supposed to be skipped by them."

"That sounds a little weird, but not all that bad," said Herik.

"It also includes performing illegal activities Herik. The consumption of drugs, committing crimes which include theft, arson, and assault, and... murder," said Milaj in a whisper.

"What? That's insane. It would never be allowed," growled Herik, though he felt a slow uneasiness creep over him again.

"It isn't, on any UTO world save for the five ralai home planets. Followers of Subjugation must all be registered and strict lists of all activities they perform are recorded and have to be kept as open record. For legal activities they can do them on any UTO world without question. But the committing of crimes is done on their home worlds where they frequently have support groups help them achieve the goals with the limits of their society and to help have as little negative impact on other ralai. Those ralai who commit their one crime in the name of subjugation do not have it listed on their records as having committed a crime at all."

"How the hell can this be allowed?" snarled Herik.

"Herik, the UTO is based on the premises of tolerance and acceptance. The laws are made to provide equality and acceptance for all races, their beliefs, and cultures. Even practices that other races may find disagreeable are to be accepted, as long as it does not impugn upon another race's moral beliefs or deny them their rights. Ralai are highly religious on the overall, yet no ralai takes umbrage with my utter disbelief and refusal to accept a creator deity. Similarly, I have no qualms with their beliefs in gods. It does not harm me in any way that they believe in a god. My beliefs are still mine. Thus, Subjugation has to be accepted, with the provisos put in place when it comes to illegal activities of the philosophy."

"So a follower of this can literally get away with murder?!" he exclaimed, his voice rising.

"Only once. Ralai who perform a crime, which must be done in the presence of a fellow follower of Subjugation as a witness, are expected to undergo evaluation after each such act. The performing of something as awful as murder is supposed to teach them the value of life, how precious it is, and how horrid a feeling is caused by taking it. Those ralai who are not revolted by the act are usually taken in for extensive psychiatric help. Remember Herik, the ralai are still alien to us. They have their own mindset, which differs from you lupari and we viliti. We are, after all, aliens in each other's eyes."

"So... if all this is true and Em'hrar is doing this Subjugation thing and came to the conclusion that he liked murder, why is there no record of him following Subjugation?"

Milaj blinked in shock for a few moments then spun her yutri back around and pored over the data.

"You're right. There is no record of it at all. That's... are you sure Tashk said Subjugation?" she asked.

"Of course I'm sure. It's not a word I'd pull out of thin air."

"Then he has somehow arranged to have any data of him following Subjugation expunged from his personal records. He's wealthy enough to afford a professional and a skilled extranet hacker could achieve this."

Herik nodded. "So this ralai is following Subjugation without a record and came to the conclusion sometime in the past that he liked killing. Liked it enough to keep doing it. Then, when humans suddenly showed up into the picture, he tried it on them... and liked it even better."

"Remember Herik, it is more than just a like or dislike. The follower does this to find their path in life. To discover what their real purpose in it is. He does not just like killing, since he keeps repeating it. He most likely believes that it is his purpose in life to kill them. He is killing humans because he thinks he was meant to do so, and he derives pleasure from fulfilling his life's purpose. He is not insane in his mind. To him the conclusion he has reached is completely rational and nothing will ever dissuade him from this path now that he has found it," she said.

Milaj quickly began composing a message file on her yutri with the destination of Center 1 and the chief of peacekeeper operations. Herik saw it show up on the holo-screen and placed his hand over the yutri, disrupting the screen.

"No," he said. "No one else gets involved in this."

"But... we have enough data here to get us permits to search his ships and holdings. I'm sure we will find the evidence that can lead us to a conviction."

"By the time all that is done and over with Amy will be dead. He'll have killed her and my soul along with her. I have to go now. Rules, laws, everything else be damned. Send all the data you have on him to my yutri. I'm going to get her and make this monster pay for everything he has done to those poor humans." Herik removed his hand from Milaj's yutri.

The viliti sighed and did as Herik asked. Herik slid out of the booth and up to his paws. He looked down at Milaj and smiled. "If I don't get in touch with you in six hours' time, then send your message to Center 1. Just give me those six hours."

Milaj nodded in agreement.

"Herik," she said in almost a whisper, "You know that... there are others who care for you as much as Amy. Others who... would like you to come see them sometime too."

Herik smiled. "I know. If I come back from this, I promise to go see them as well."

The lupari turned and strode out of the eatery. Milaj lowered her face down into her hands and began to cry.