<<< PREV | FIRST | NEXT >>>

Mess deck of the Trebonius.
Hollie sat with her elbows on the table and a cup of tea in her hands; she was deep in thought about the events of the past few days. She could hear the faint sounds of repair work being carried out throughout the ship and wondered what the best course of action was. Should she hide or take on the increment. Knowing it would be suicide to take them on directly but maybe, just maybe, she could get the information she needed to hurt them indirectly. There must be someone out there who knows something. Hollie knew just the fur she had to see, Faboo! He knew everything about everyone. And for a price could lay his paws on just about anything.
As Hollie was thinking about this Koichi walked in with a pad in his hands, “Hollie, I have the autopsy report for you.”
Hollie looked up at him and said “What did you find out?” Instantly she regretted saying that when Koichi went into a long speech full of medical terminology and phrases. Hollie knew that once he got started she could not get a word in edgeways so she just sat back to listen. However, her thoughts drifted about how she met him.
Hollie had met Koichi on Space Station Lexi. It was towards the end of the war and Hollie had been injured during the defence of Mars when her transport was shot down. The space station was in chaos, injured furs were everywhere. Doctors, nurses, and medics were running everywhere trying to save everyone they could. Hollie lay on a cot on the floor delirious from pain killing drugs. Because of the toll the crash took on her body, a nurse came by looked her over and said she wasn’t that serious. A few minutes later a chocolate coloured fox walked by, looked at her and stopped. Looking into her eyes and checking her pulse, he then stood up and shouted. Due to the drugs Hollie could not make out what he said, but suddenly she was lifted up onto a trolley and wheeled into an operating theatre. When she came to, her head had been shaved and there was a bandage over it,
The chocolate fox was also standing there, “Hi! I am glad you are awake. We almost lost you. You had a subdural haematoma. What that basically means is a blood vessel in your head had burst and was bleeding into your brain. If you had stayed there much longer you would have died. ” He then walked away and Hollie did not see him again for many years but she never forgot what he did for her.
Hollie snapped out of her daydream and looked at him, “Koichi.....Koichi..... KOICHI!!!” Hollie shouted.
“Hmmmm?” answered Koichi.
“It is very good that you have gone to all this trouble. But can you give it to me in a way that doesn’t require 10 years of medical school and a transport full of medical textbooks to understand?” Hollie explained.
Koichi coughed, “Sorry Hollie. I do tend to over elaborate and go on a bit, don’t I? Ok, the basic story is this: This assassin was genetically bred from so many species; I don’t know where to start cataloguing them. Its genetic make-up is so unstable; the life span must be very short. Also they have extensive cybernetics and subcutaneous injectors. Those are injectors that are linked to the nervous system and the blood stream detecting different stimuli and hormones. They were originally designed for people with illnesses that required regular injections or were controlled by hormone therapy. Diseases such as diabetes, haemophilia and for people with severe allergies. These injectors would monitor the body and inject the required medication when it was needed. These though have been modified to inject painkillers, modified adrenalin, also some other stimulants, anything basically that is needed to keep the subject mobile and moving”.
“Wait, painkillers? You mean we could have shot that thing and not killed it?” asked Hollie.
“No.” Koichi answered. “What I mean is, you could have hit, shot or stabbed it in the arm or leg and it would have been able to keep on coming. If you had hit it somewhere vital it would have died just like a normal fur. The cybernetics it had were not very advanced but were able to give it an edge. Xander analysed them and found that it had an eye with night vision and thermal capabilities and an ear implant that enabled it to listen in to any radio frequencies. Most shocking of all, I found small packets of a very advanced explosive all over its body, if it had blown up it would have ripped the cargo bay apart.”
“Thanks Koichi. At least now we have an idea what we are up against.” Hollie said. She put her mug down and headed out of the mess deck. On her way, she passed the corridor where she had fought the assassin with Fermented. It had been repaired and a fresh coat of paint had been applied, looking as good as new.
Reaching the cargo bay, Hollie saw Ty talking to Beagle. Walking over to talk to them both, “Ty did you get rid of the cryo pod?”
“Yes, we attached a small booster rocket to it. Then Selas took it outside with the cargo tug and launched it into deep space.” He replied.
Hollie nodded and turned to Beagle, “Did you find anything?”
“Nope. I searched everywhere. I even went through the air ducts. I followed the assassin’s scent everywhere but couldn’t find a trace of explosive or trackers”
“Good” Hollie sighed, “We are heading to Mars. Once there, I will have someone do a full scan of the ship. Just in case.”
When Hollie got back to the bridge, she sat down next to Xander. “What did the spiders find out? And did you find out anything about the assassin?”
“Well the spiders found no trace of any trackers. But the assassin was astounding! There were DNA traces from at least ten different species: dog, cat, chameleon, rabbit, and the rest I am still trying to find out what they are. The cybernetics were also a shock. As you know cybernetic implantation was stopped years ago because of the pain it could cause when the body started rejecting it. Also a lot of people could not handle the neural interface and had constant migraines from it or worse. You’re aware that I have extensive cybernetic implants. That is because I was used as a medical guinea pig. I am lucky my body accepted the implants and the neural Interface. These creatures must be in terrible pain if their bodies are not accepting it.”
Hollie stood “Ok. Thanks Xander. Let me know if you have any new info.”
Then she turned to Arisu, “Do you have a course to Mars for us?”
“Yes” Arisu replied, “After the random jumps we have been making these past few days I have plotted a course to the nearest jump gate and on to Mars. We can be there in about a week.”
Hollie looked over at Sumr, “Ok, let’s get moving. We won’t get much done sitting here. I want to get back to Mars so I can get some information and find out what we are up against.”
Sumr’s voice then came over the intercom, “We will be jumping in ten minutes. Make the ship ready for jump.”
The next week passed without incident. Hollie made sure that all the crew members made a list of parts and supplies they needed for the ship. And to make sure that everything was ready for when they landed. Finally they reached Mars and for most of the crew it was home. But since the war, the only home Hollie had had was the ship. Hollie knew she had to find Faboo and get the information she needed. As the red planet came into view, Hollie knew that on it there could be the answer to their dilemma or Increment assassins waiting for them.