Justice
By Kurun t’Gath
Translated from the Kashlanin
(99.3% accuracy)
© 2026 by Walter Reimer

Thumbnail art by  morgdl


Eleven.


I was still studying the files when the crime scene technicians returned to the station and the male technician contacted me. “Captain-Inspector?”

“Yes?”

“We have completed our search,” he said. “Do you wish to come and see what was recovered?”

“Yes. I will be there momentarily.” I ended the conversation and closed my [personal access device] before leaving the office.

While I walked down the corridor, I was joined by the station’s lieutenant. “They told me,” he said.

“Good. We should see this.”

After we reached the analysis room, the female technician said, “We first examined the house computer, and obtained a full inventory of the drones as well as a copy of the computer’s programming. That is being examined to see if there is any anomalous or inimical code.”

“And the drone inventory?” I asked.

“A discrepancy of one was discovered,” the male technician replied. “All of the drones were analyzed, and this one grooming drone was found to be unaccounted for.” He indicated a [five-centimeter by eight-centimeter by two-centimeter] device. It was within a transparisteel box. “We were waiting for you before activating it.”

“Good,” I said. “Please activate the device.”

The male took control of the device and with a soft hum audible through the transparisteel the device rose on artigrav. It turned toward me and I said, “Its cutting face shows signs of having been tampered with.”

“Yes,” the female technician said. “We noticed that, and we secured it in the examination box in case it contains any weapons or explosive devices.” The drone was powered down, and the male technician slipped his hands into a set of gloves that were connected to manipulators equipped with a variety of tools.

The manipulators flipped the drone upside-down and opened the casing, slowly setting aside the artigrav unit, the rechargeable power cell, and the storage for clipped hairs. The male’s tail suddenly thumped the floor and his ears indicated surprise. “Look at this,” he said.

Inserted into the drone was a thin double-edged metal blade nearly the length of the drone itself, along with mechanisms to extend and retract it. It had dried traces of blood on it.

My tailspur dragged across the floor and my fingerclaws twitched. “Analyzers,” I said, and the male technician brought a [scanner] down. The analyzer sampled one fleck of the residue.

“Blood type 1-4a,” the male said.

“Then this is the murder weapon,” I said. The blood type was a common one, and was a match for the victim. “Image that blade and send the image to my [personal access device],” I ordered as I took the device from my pocket. I spread the device out on a nearby table and had a holographic image of Yifan-sir’s head and neck displayed. As the lieutenant watched, I accessed the image of the blade and matched it against the wound channel where the victim’s spinal column and skull joined.

“It matches,” the lieutenant said.

“Yes, it does.” Had the two technicians not been lax in their search, I could have had this information much earlier. Again, I had to suppress my anger. Their lapse would be addressed; the pair were to be reprimanded and undergo retraining.

“Secure the drone as evidence,” I said. “Where was it found?”

The male technician was using the manipulators to disconnect the drone’s power supply before packaging it. He said, “The drone was found in the main room cleaning drone storage, near the kitchen entrance.”

“Images of the storage area are being uploaded to your device, Captain,” the female technician added.

“Very good (formal),” I said.

The lieutenant and I were walking back to his office. He asked, “Are you closer to solving the murder, Sir?”

I extended my right-first and right-thumb fingerclaws and held them slightly apart. “I believe I am this close,” I replied. “The second set of interviews will be important.”





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