“ID please?” asked the officer, leaning through the window with a clipboard. She examined the badge and the photograph and recorded the name down. “You’re clear, just pull up where you can, Sir.”

Do’Lânqwa wasn’t used to being called ‘Sir’ yet, but politely nodded at the officer, before driving down the long drive. In the distance, he could see the purple and orange flashing lights of the response vehicles where the drive way finished and the crime scene started. Industrial sized drones hovered and beamed light at the house. Tents were being put up as well on the garden lawn. Do’Lânqwa stopped the car and headed for the steps leading up to the house. A man talking to a group of uniformed people spotted Do’Lânqwa and left his conversation to join him.

“Sir, I'm sorry to have woken you,” the man said, holding up his palm for Do’Lânqwa to press his own palm against.

“You’re ok. I was awake anyway, Mo’Lilva. My new infant hasn’t mastered sleeping yet,” he responded before motioning for Mo’Lilva to lead on. “Give me the run down then.”

“Of course Sir. So we have a partial demolishment at the rear of the building. This is where they entered and exited. No further structural damage elsewhere,” Mo’Lilva led his superior down the main hallway towards the rear where the kitchen and open plan living would have been.

Instead, it was all reduced to rubble, except for a column of wall which had remained. Glass covered the ground in tiny shards and metal was warped and shredded, twisted in dramatic shapes protruding skywards. A drone hovered in the middle of the area and a search bot sifted through and lifted what would have been the refrigerator. Do’Lânqwa just nodded in acceptance at the work being done and to signal that he was ready to move on.

Mo’Lilva led his superior to the grand staircase. Do’Lânqwa observed the images on the wall of the stairs featuring many scenes and memories of happy times for the occupants of the house. He’d almost missed what he was being told as he got lost in his own thoughts of his own new and expanding family.

“Sir, I was just saying that you need to be warned before we go any further,” Mo’Lilva repeated.

“Yes, I heard. It’s fine, let’s proceed,” he lied.

“There’s a search of the wider area for the missing ten calendars old infant and alerts have been sent out.”

They went room to room starting with the master room. Both of its occupants were brutally murdered. The male was lying on the floor by his bed, his right arm torn off and resting beside him. The female was in bed, or rather, her legs were. Her top half was intact but lay on the floor. Do’Lânqwa took a subtle exhale and nodded again, ready to move on.

“This is the adolescent sixteen calendars old female’s room Sir,” announced Mo’Lilva, taking a step back to allow Do’Lânqwa to go in first.

He’d already seen what was within the room, and he didn’t like it one bit. The girl was slumped in the clothes storage unit, the doors to which were in pieces either side of the gap that contained the body and the strewn around clothes. The girl looked intact and Do’Lânqwa couldn’t see where the blood had come from. The post mortems would find out.

The last room belonged to an infant male, younger than the adolescent they had just seen. Mo’Lilva had even less of a stomach for what was in this room. The infant’s intact remains were half in the room, half hanging out of the window, showing he was probably trying to escape. The family hound was in two parts on the floor. Do’Lânqwa ran his hand over his head, exhaling loudly this time.

“Are they going to be recovered soon?” he asked, eyes fixed on the boy in the window.

“Around eight at first light,” was the simple answer given.

“Any suggestion yet as to who did this?”

“You really think a ‘who’ was behind this? Looks like a ‘what’ did this,” mused Mo’Lilva. “The missing infant’s room is down the hall. Did you want to see that too, Sir?” Do’Lânqwa’s phone started ringing, and he frowned when he looked at the screen.

“No, it’s ok. I’m going to have to take this. Give me a moment.” Do’Lânqwa turned to take the short phone call and hung up at the end. “I’m needed back at the office, thanks Mo’Lilva.”

***

“We’re shutting the case down, I’m afraid, Captain,” a strange, smart official simply put, from his seat at the conference table. The man had introduced himself as Ha’Tiviab.

Do’Lânqwa had driven the forty five minutes back to the main centre for law enforcement of the district, with the images from the house replaying in his memory. Being told the case was being shut down was not what he was expecting, nor what he thought was right. Hiding his surprise and annoyance, Do’Lânqwa remained rooted silently to the spot. People usually can’t stand awkward silences and end up filling them, so Do’Lânqwa was planning to gain more information this way. It came as planned.

“Look, I can see your frustration, Captain.” There was that deliberate use of his title again, perhaps an attempt to remind him of his rank and curtail any protestation. “And I appreciate that what you saw on scene concerns you, but this has gone higher now, and our agency is going to deal with it.”

Immediately, Do’Lânqwa knew this stranger was lying to him, sensing an increase in body heat coming from him- a physiological reaction that automatically occurs when someone lies. What Do’Lânqwa wasn’t certain of was what the truth here was. All he had was a gut feeling that this was going to be brushed under the carpet. Judging by the fact that this Ha’Tiviab character was unfamiliar to him, which also meant he wasn’t law enforcement and therefore not his senior, Do’Lânqwa decided he wasn’t going to be fobbed off. He also knew this man was lying, so that is what he led with.

He sat, shuffled a bit, and said, “Look, I’ll be straight with you. I know you’re lying to me about something.” His one man audience started to defend himself but Do’Lânqwa raised his hand to stop him. “You say you appreciate that what I saw concerns me? Too right it did. We have an infant missing and the rest of the family literally torn apart in every sense and you want me to sit here and believe that you are going to deal with this?” Do’Lânqwa stood and walked around to Ha’Tiviab, perching on the desk near him- deliberately invading his personal space and maintaining a domineering height over him. “No. You don’t come into my district, into my office and give me this nonsense.” The man pushed back in his chair, but in a flash Do’Lânqwa closed the gap, and picked him up out of it by the lapels on his jacket.

The man was stunned, so Do’Lânqwa continued, “You’re going to tell me what you know, and you’re not going to leave anything out. I will know if you’re telling me the truth. No one kills a family in my jurisdiction and escapes justice!”

“This is bigger than you or me. And I’m just delivering the message,” Ha’Tiviab squirmed. Do’Lânqwa didn’t let go. He was telling the truth this time but he wanted to keep the pressure on. See what else he could get. “This- this has repercussions that extend further than just peacekeeping in your district. Once you know, there’s no going back.”

The truth, again.

“This all sounds quite dramatic,” Do’Lânqwa noted, still holding on to his captive.

“Well yes, I suppose so, but I need you to know what we’re talking about is beyond Governmental level. And I want to give you the chance to remain ignorant.” The honesty was raw and caused even the head strong Do’Lânqwa to consider. “Do you want to know?”

Do’Lânqwa thought again of the bloodshed and of the infants killed hiding or escaping. And thought of the infant who was taken. Where was he now? What must he be feeling? There was a reason for what happened, and justice was needed.

“I need to know,”

“Very well, but I was worried you would say that. Your file said you were like this,” and with that, the man with the secrets pulled out a device from a pocket and thrust it into Do’Lânqwa’s gut, causing him to black out and collapse onto the floor.

***

Do’Lânqwa came to in a strange room, seated in a chair. He was sore and unfamiliar with his surroundings.

“Apologies Captain. Like I said, this is beyond Government level. There could be no graces getting you here,” Ha’Tiviab explained. “You’re free to walk around, you’re not a prisoner. We just had to get you here without you knowing where you are. Please, stretch your legs. Just er… be less handsy with me,”

“He’s right,” a voice from behind said. “We couldn’t have you know where you are, and you’re not a prisoner.”

“Right, well can someone start explaining what this is all about? I’m getting a bit tired of this not knowing. And who do you work for? I have no idea who you are!”

“That will all become clear, Do’Lânqwa. You wanted to know, so I’ll explain. But like you were told, there are repercussions to knowing. See, you’ll know that for centuries, our world has been a peaceful one, priding itself in our independent passivity.” Both men now took seats opposite Do’Lânqwa who stayed strong in being cool and calm. None of this was new to him, he knew all about his planet’s ethos and standing. “And as a world, stood side by side with the other worlds, we offer something to our citizens that can’t be provided by others. Peace. Unity. Strength. However, there has been some pressure, and our leaders have been outstanding in hiding that pressure from our citizens, but it’s a pressure nevertheless. And in some ways, as a global community, we do fall behind our planetary neighbours.”

“I’m hoping this gets to the bit about the dead infants,” Do’Lânqwa seethed.

“Please, just humour us Captain. This is what you wanted to know. With due respect, shut up and listen,” Ha’Tiviab replied.

The newer, more senior man who had not introduced himself continued, “In an attempt to keep up with our neighbours and cover new ground dynamically, a degree of highly classified experimentation was approved and subsequently commenced,” Do’Lânqwa couldn’t detect dishonesty. “We were in the market for a level of superior beings, enhanced with the very latest technorganic technology and DNA restructuring.”

“For what ends?” Do’Lânqwa asked, still not knowing where this was going, but equally disturbed by what was happening behind the scenes of his Government.

“Militarisation,” was the simple answer given. It sat with Do’Lânqwa for a moment while he mulled it over.

“But we pride ourselves in being-“

“A planet of peace, without any military forces. We know. Regardless, testing was successful, but sadly it also failed us. But what is science without failure? Our forty fifth test subject was our most recent, and puts us in this room together this morning. Testing over compensated on a couple of variables where the forty fourth fell short, and the consequences are… less than desirable.”

“For the Government?” Do’Lânqwa pushed, the pieces of the jigsaw coming together.

“…Yes.” That was the truth.

“But also for our people Do’Lânqwa. Think of them” Ha’Tiviab added. “Imagine the uproar and the ripple effect to our very purpose and being if news of this got out!”

“So this forty fifth test subject killed this family?” Do’Lânqwa asked, now trying to connect the dots.

The stranger sighed. “The family was that of the chief of the Scientific Research Plant conducting the tests.”

The truth again. “So are we saying that they were killed in revenge then?”

“Exactly.”

“And you need the murders kept quiet because in normal circumstances the attention would be extensive…”

“…and it can’t be known what is happening behind the scenes,” finished the stranger. He was concerned at how not one bit of what he was being told was a lie, as he was not picking up on any noticeable increases in body heat.

“So what’s his next move? What level of cognitional awareness are we talking about on this subject? Does it have a name?” asked Do’Lânqwa.

“We’re referring to him simply as The 45th. He was tracked to a location and was immediately exiled from this planet,” it was explained vaguely.

“And the infant?” Do’Lânqwa watched Ha’Tiviab and his superior exchange looks, but the silence was enough. “You’ve got to be kidding me?! You left the child with him?”

“It was the right decision to make,” the superior man said, but he didn’t even seem convinced by what he was saying.

“I can’t believe this!? So that’s it then, job done?”

“Not quite Captain, no,” said Ha’Tiviab.

“No, in removing The 45th from this planet, and whilst not proving an immediate threat anymore to our planet…”

Do’Lânqwa interrupted, guessing the rest of the sentence, “…he is a problem for someone else?”

“Exactly. And we can’t have this come back on us if he is a problem elsewhere.”

“Well I can see what you mean now about repercussions,” Do’Lânqwa mused, motioning towards Ha’Tiviab. “Well, so do you just need me to go back and help keep this sorry mess all quiet? And I’ll try to do right by the family in another way.”

“Not quite. That won’t exactly be possible Do’Lânqwa,” the senior man stated.

He’s not lying. This isn’t going to be possible. Do’Lânqwa leant back, tensing as he waited for what was to come next. He tried to keep his true feelings, his true fears, from presenting in his body language. Ha’Tiviab’s body language however gave a lot away though, as he squirmed in his own seat and avoided making eye contact.

The man in charge continued, “the repercussions will be felt for you personally I’m now afraid. You now know about this, and therefore cannot be permitted to go back to your life.”

Do’Lânqwa shot out of his chair, fists slamming down on the table, letting go of his steely exterior. Ha’Tiviab jumped, whilst his boss simply leant back in his chair, almost expectant of this outburst.

“I HAVE A FAMILY AT HOME!!!” he roared, glaring at the men, nostrils flaring in pure anger.

“And they will be compensated for your sacrifice.”

“Sacrifice?! You are kidding me, you piece of –“

“Do’Lânqwa! Sit down please! I appreciate your concerns, but don’t make this any more difficult,” the senior man shouted.

“Difficult?! Don’t think I’m going to sit back whilst you just kill me!”

“Kill you? What? No, that’s not what’s going to happen here. That’s not in our passivist ways, is it?” Ha’Tiviab assured.

“No no, Do’Lânqwa. We have a new calling for you. A new direction for you.” Do’Lânqwa stood still, still furious, but relieved to not being killed. He was equally confused and concerned about the alternative though. A new direction? A calling?

“What are you talking about? I’m a police captain here!”

“Yes, and with your skills and training, we are sending you to hunt down The 45th and ensure he will not be a concern for us or anyone else. Peacefully, of course.”

“And what about rescuing and returning the infant?” Do’Lânqwa said.

His senior captor gravely shook his head. “Do’Lânqwa, that’s not the mission here. You won’t be coming back.”

To be continued…

Coming up next in The Astral Sheriff #2 'First Day on The Job'…

Do’Lânqwa’s new assignment takes him to unexplored territories where a new friend might be the help he needs.