Three Square Meals Ch. 049

John strolled into the Briefing Room, and walked over to the armour equipping frame. He stepped into the plated boots, and slipped his hands into the gauntlets. Pressing the thumb button on the right gauntlet, the robotic arms swung down, swinging the armour plating into position, and slotting it into place over his chest and limbs. He pressed his left thumb to his palm, and the armour sealed together with a rippling series of metallic clicks, just as the Phalanx armour helmet was lowered into position on his head.

He looked through the clear faceplate in surprise, and saw that Dana had been working on a new helmet design. As he stepped clear of the equipping frame, he glanced back at the girls, and saw them grinning at him through their own versions of the new helmet. The helmets were white, like the rest of the armour, but now had a clear visor in a broad Y-shape.

Dana had followed them into the Briefing Room, and she beamed a sparkling smile at him before saying, "The full suit isn't ready yet, but I had to install the upgraded smartlink software into the helmets anyway, so I figured I'd just build the new ones."

"Ahem," Alyssa said, as though clearing her throat loudly.

The redhead laughed and corrected herself, saying, "Alright, Alyssa and I worked on the new designs, and then she shaped the crystal plating for me."

John laughed and said, "Nice job, both of you."

He then reached up and pulled off the helmet to take a look inside. Although the view through the visor was perfectly clear, he could see that there were actually two layers of crystal that made up the faceplate. The helmet felt lighter than before, and wasn't quite so bulky.

The redhead walked over to him and smiled when she saw what he was looking at. "Yeah, double plated like the old helmets. This new crystal compound is tough as old boots though, and even sturdier than the old armour," she said eagerly.

John grinned at her and put the helmet back on his head. "Nice idea. It's great to be able to see your faces, and visibility is much better now too," he said approvingly, glancing to either side, and finding his peripheral vision unobstructed.

Dana nodded and said, "Yeah, that was my thinking. The helmet GUI works the same way as before."

Alyssa and Calara had already retrieved their Punisher railguns, and were busy slotting in the magazines to the appropriate slots. They picked up some extra magazines, and a number of clips, slotting them into position on their combat webbing. John and Rachel followed their lead, and soon they were fully equipped and ready for action. He looked over at the three of them, standing in their glossy white armour with the gold, dark brown, and light brown lioness emblems on their respective shoulder pads. With their ferocious looking rifles at the ready, they looked very intimidating.

"How do we look?" Alyssa asked him curiously.

John grinned and said, "Like people not to be fucked with."

She smiled at that, then asked, "Why are we gearing up anyway? I thought we're just going to visit the police headquarters?"

He winked and said, "I have a feeling we'll make a significantly more dramatic impression on Avalon PD dressed like this."

"Clothes make the man," she agreed with a wry smile.

They strolled out of the Briefing Room, and Jade smiled at them as they walked past the Pilot's Station. "We're in orbit above Avalon," she said, rising from her chair.

He nodded to her, and the Nymph walked briskly ahead of them, heading towards the grav-tube. He paused, and turning to face Dana he said, "Take care up here. Let us know if you run into any kind of trouble."

"Likewise!" Dana said enthusiastically. She kissed her hand and then placed it on his face plate. "Try to stay out of trouble, you're down to your last suit of armour," she added with a wry smile.

He grinned to her and nodded, then turned to catch up with the others, jogging briskly as he headed to the grav-tube.

***

They were all down in the hangar bay when Irillith arrived, and she looked surprised that they had geared up so fast. She seemed like she was about to make some remark, then looked thoughtful, as though she were remembering something, and stayed silent instead. Jade had begun powering up the engines of the Raptor, so they all strode up the loading ramp, with John hitting the button to close it once they were all inside.

They led Irillith through the door at the back of the room, and stepped into the grav-tube, before floating up to the top deck. Jade had begun her takeoff procedure when they filed inside the cockpit, and they watched her neatly swing the gunship clear of the Invictus as they took their seats behind her.

Jade glanced over her shoulder at John and said, "Where to?"

"The Police Headquarters in Avalon. The capital is bound to have the biggest law enforcement facility," he said speculatively.

Calara nodded her agreement and said, "I checked, you're right. They have a large compound and central headquarters building in the North west quadrant of the city. It's quite distinctive; look for a modern thirty-storey tower block in black and silver. There are dozens of landing pads for anti-grav vehicles, on a platform on the south side. We should be able to land on one of those."

"On our way," Jade said with a smile, and cranked up the power to the engines, sending them racing towards the surface of the planet.

New Eden loomed large before them, the planet looking green and lush as it drew closer. Unlike the wilder nature of the Maliri worlds, this Terran world looked to be carefully maintained and cultivated, with humanity having stamped it's authority on the planet. Jade brought them in on a smooth descent towards the city, and they raced over huge, immaculately preserved estates on their final approach to Avalon.

A flashing light on the console let Jade know that they were being hailed, and she clicked a button that accepted the call. A stern faced young man appeared on the viewscreen, and he said brusquely, "This is Avalon flight control. Please identify yourself, and the nature of your business in the city."

John got up then walked over to stand by Jade's side, and in a tone that let the young man know that this wasn't up for discussion, he said, "This is Commodore John Blake, and I have business at the Police Headquarters. Let them know I'll be arriving in a five minutes."

The young flight controller looked surprised, and after a brief pause he said, "Right away Commodore! I'll alert them of your imminent arrival."

John nodded, and glanced at Jade, who reached over to end the call. She looked up at him and grinned, admiring his commanding presence. He winked at her, and then looked out over the planet, as they approached the city.

Turning back to look at Rachel, he asked her, "Did you grow up on New Eden?"

The tawny haired girl had been lost in her thoughts, and she looked up at him when he spoke. She nodded and said, "Yes, I spent most of my time here. We had several other houses on different planets, but I always thought of New Eden as home."

John walked over and sat on his haunches in front of her. "Having any second thoughts about this?" he asked considerately.

Rachel looked into his eyes and he saw a firm resolve there, as she replied, "No. I want to get justice for my mother. The people who did this to her have been able to get away with it for too long."

John nodded, and reached out to hold her hand before sitting beside her. As he did so, he spotted Irillith rolling her eyes, and he stared at her pointedly for a long moment, until she flushed with embarrassment and looked away.

Jade called out to them, "Coming up on the Police Headquarters," and they looked out of the cockpit canopy to get a glimpse of their destination.

Sure enough, the black and silver tower block appeared ahead of them, looming out of the steel forest of the city skyline. Jade raced towards it in the Raptor, darting between the skyscrapers that made up Avalon's city centre, with a breathtaking display of aerobatics. The landing platform jutted out mid-way up the law enforcement building, and numerous police cruisers coloured in the same black and silver as the building, were parked in neat rows on the landing pads. There were plenty of free spaces available on the platform, so she picked one of the pads close to the building, and brought them down to a gentle landing under her skilful and well practiced hands.

John stood and placed a hand on the Nymph's shoulder as he said, "You better stay with the gunship. We'll let you know if there's any trouble."

She glanced up at him with her shining emerald eyes and nodded, acknowledging his orders. He smiled at her, then walked out of the cockpit, and dropped down in the grav-tube as he followed after the others. They waited for him by the front loading ramp, and Alyssa hit the button to lower the ramp as he arrived. It dropped smoothly with the soft hum of hydraulics, and John strode out purposefully as soon as it touched the ground.

The girls fanned out to flank him, and the handful of police officers on the landing platform looked at them in surprise as they walked briskly towards the tall building ahead of them. John heard a few muttered comments from the startled police, and he was sure he heard "Lion" more than once. He smiled grimly as they drew closer to the Police Headquarters, and the door suddenly swung open as a flustered looking policewoman burst through the door.

"Commodore Blake!" she gasped when she looked up at them all in shock, having not expected to have them appear right in front of her.

John stopped and studied the woman appraisingly as he said, "Yes, I'm Commodore John Blake. Who might you be?"

The police officer blocking their path was an attractive raven haired woman in her early thirties, she got a hold of herself and said, "I'm Detective Karen Walsh, I just heard from Traffic Control that you were heading our way."

John nodded, and watched a couple of the police officers from the platform dart past them and run into the building. "My team and I are conducting an investigation. I'd appreciate the cooperation of the Avalon Police Department in helping me conclude it as quickly and efficiently as possible," he said in a no-nonsense manner.

Detective Walsh looked up at him wide eyed, and nodded as she said, "What can we do to help you?"

John smiled at her gratefully and said, "We'll need access to your data archives. We're investigating a murder that happened ten years ago."

The police officer nodded, and then opened the door behind her. "Follow me," she said eagerly, and walked inside.

It seemed like the police officers from the platform had spread the news of their arrival, and it appeared to have raced like wildfire through the building. As John and the girls strode through the corridors after Detective Walsh, they passed dozens of awestruck faces as the police officers came out of their offices to watch the celebrities in their midst.

She led them out into a large foyer area, with clear glass elevators on the other side of the wide room, that led up to the open plan offices above. They strode briskly across the foyer, as a hushed silence fell across the room. Their guide led them into an elevator, and it rose steadily, going up four levels before stopping with a soft chime. Police men and women lined the balconies of the different levels of the foyer, all wanting a glimpse of the Lion of the Federation and his lionesses, geared up for battle.

The elevator doors swung open and Detective Walsh led them across the open office area, to a glass walled server room on the far side. She swiped her detectives badge across the reader by the side of the door, and an automated voice said, "Welcome, Detective Walsh."

She gestured for them to enter, and John led the way, with the police woman and the rest of the girls following behind them. He turned towards the golden armoured Maliri who stood behind him, and said, "Over to you, Irillith."

Irillith walked towards the bank of huge servers, and deftly removed the data jacks from her right vambrace. She attached them to the corresponding ports on the server console, and then began to hit several buttons on her gleaming golden arm. There was a swirl of purple digital blocks and the AI construct began to assemble, forming the tiny sylph-like shape.

The AI Sprite opened its wide, trusting eyes, and blinked them a couple of times before it asked her, "Are you my creator?"

Irillith removed her helmet, and smiled warmly at the four-inch-tall electronic construct. Then she said gently, "That's right little one. Would you like to help me with an interesting problem?"

The diminutive AI pixie nodded eagerly and said, "I'd love to help you! What can I do to assist?"

Irillith said to it in a hushed voice, "We're trying to stop some bad men from hurting any more people. I'll give you instructions on what we're looking for."

She pressed a button, and when a holographic panel slid out, Irillith began to rapidly enter detailed search criteria for the inquisitive electronic creature. It stood on her forearm, it's head tilted to one side as if listening intently to her commands.

When she finished typing, it looked up at her with an earnest expression, and said, "You can count on me!" It then darted along the data jacks and dived into the console port, disappearing from sight.

Detective Walsh had been staring at the blue-skinned woman and her tiny purple companion in amazement, and when it leapt into the servers, she blurted out, "What was that thing?!"

Irillith looked at the woman with annoyance, and said dismissively, "A digital helper, pay it no mind."

The policewoman frowned at her tone, and John said, "Please accept my apologies for my rude companion. She's been having a stressful day." He then glanced disapprovingly at Irillith, who looked away haughtily.

They only had to wait for thirty seconds before a soft chime from Irillith's vambrace drew their attention back to her. She tapped in a few commands, and then unclipped a small device from her belt. Turning towards the glass wall behind them, and the dozens of staring police officers behind it, she stuck the device to the wall. With the press of a button, it began to project holographic panels, showing the relevant case files that the AI had located.

Detective Walsh looked up at the files, and when she had read the first couple of reports, she looked over at John in surprise. "You're investigating the New Eden Serpents?"

When he looked at her with a bemused expression, she smiled apologetically, and said, "Sorry, that's the nickname the media gave the kidnapping group. Because they were taking people away from the garden of New Eden... Yeah I know, pretty lame right?"

John shrugged and said, "What do you know of this group, The Serpents?"

The policewoman shook her head and said regretfully, "Not much I'm afraid. It was before my time on the force, and I was still in the Academy when they were active. The gang did a number of high profile kidnappings about ten years ago, with most of the wealthy victims returned safely. They made a lot of money in a very short time, but were never caught."

Calara had been carefully studying each of the police reports and she said off handedly, "The lead officer in all these cases was a Detective Cliff Buckley. Is he still working for the Avalon Police Department?"

Detective Walsh nodded, and said, "Yeah, Captain Buckley is in charge of the precinct now."

John was going to ask her for more details, when a stocky, red faced man in a suit came storming through the glass door to the server room. "What's going on here?! Stop what you're doing immediately!" he demanded in an outraged voice. "I never gave you permission to access our servers!"

Turning to face the man, John said calmly, "Permission? I'm a Commodore in the Terran Federation Navy. I outrank every civilian on this planet."

As the red faced man fumed impotently, Detective Walsh said, "Commodore Blake, this is Captain Buckley."

"Thank you Detective," John said, to her courteously. He then looked at the Captain and told him curtly, "We're just conducting an investigation. We'll be out of your hair shortly."

Captain Buckley glared at John, then narrowed his eyes as he looked past him at the reports Calara was sifting through. The Latina was speaking quietly to Irillith, who nodded, looking impressed, and began to rapidly type in new sets of instructions to her AI sprite.

The Captain's eyes widened slightly as he saw what reports they were examining, and he said, "Commodore Blake, we can discuss this like reasonable men, surely? Why don't you come up to my office and we can have a chat. Then you can continue your investigation afterwards."

John was about to reply, when Calara said sharply, "He's a corrupt cop. He was the informant for the kidnappers."

Buckley sounded outraged as he blustered, "How dare you! I've served the force loyally for seventeen years!"

Irillith entered a number of commands, and new holographic images began to flash in front of their eyes. Bank accounts registered to Cliff Buckley appeared, showing large transfers of funds ten years ago, with the relevant entries highlighted in damning red circles. Captain Buckley gaped at the images, his eyes wide in shock.

"There's more," Calara continued relentlessly. "He arranged the murders of two detectives ten years ago. They suspected he was involved with the kidnappings."

The Latina nodded to Irillith who opened the damning audio file, hacked from the telecom archive of his private phone records.

The recording of Captain Buckley's distinctive voice filled the room, and he snarled, "I want those fuckers dead! MacDermot and Higgins have started snooping around, and I've seen the looks they've been giving me. They know I'm involved!"

"Calm down," a stern voice replied. "Just let us know when they leave the station, and we'll take care of it."

Irillith clicked a button, and a news article suddenly appeared, with the title: "Avalon PD Detectives gunned down in apparently motiveless shooting!" The image accompanying the article showed the smoking ruin of a black and silver police squad car, riddled with dozens of bullet holes.

Captain Buckley stared at them in horror, and glanced behind him at the dozens of police officers who were staring at him appalled, their faces registering their shock. He glared at John in fury, and reached for his handgun, as he started backing from the room.

Alyssa was standing on the other side of the room, but with a dismissive wave of her hand, she slapped the pistol from the man's shaking grasp. She then turned her hand upwards, and he screamed as she lifted him off the floor.

John walked over to the Police Captain, and studied him for a long moment, seeing the fear in the other man's terrified eyes. "I'm entirely within my rights to execute you immediately," John told him coldly. "The only thing saving you from that, is if you tell me everything you know about the kidnapping gang, these 'New Eden Serpents'."

Captain Buckley stammered for a moment, but he began to talk rapidly when John began to reach for the Heavy pistol on his belt. "They're still active!" he gasped. "They used all the money they made years ago to buy a huge arsenal of surplus army hardware. Tanks, big guns, ships... They've been working as mercenaries!"

John frowned and asked, "Why? If they made that much money years ago, why didn't they just retire?"

Buckley shook his head frantically and replied, "I've got no fucking idea! They didn't tell me their plans, they just paid me money to tip them off about juicy targets."

"Where are they now?" John said in a voice quiet as the grave.

Buckley hesitated for just a moment, but one glance at John's bleak expression got him talking again. "Beta Draconis!" he yelped. "The merc group is called the 'Armoured Cobras'. They're legit now! They've got a base on the fourth planet in the system."