Hearts of Aldora

“You said you had an update for me, Marsh?” Kennedy Johnson hovers above the corpse of his Jane Doe.

“The chem print in her system isn’t on the Grid.” Dr. Marshall Walker hands Kennedy the tablet.

“I thought the Grid had everything across the Federation on it, how is that even possible?”

“I don’t know, we’re running test now. The boys upstairs are antsy.”

“Don’t worry about them.” Kennedy passes the crystal slab back to the doctor. “What can you tell me?”

“Whatever it is, it’s most likely what killed her. There’s track marks behind her ears.” Marsh pushes back her ear to show his finding.

“What is she?” Kennedy looks up, putting in his eye drops.

“She’s a demi, still working out the off-world half of that equation.” Marshall retrieves something from a nearby drawer before placing it in Kennedy’s hands. “Found this in her stomach. Don’t worry, it’s clean.”

“Any significance?” Kennedy lets the hand crafted pendant dangle in front of his face. The harsh light of the morgue is reflected in gentle, golden beams as the heart shaped locket slowly spins.

“Besides finding it in her stomach there’s nothing unusual about it.” Marshall shrugs.

“Mind if I borrow this?” Kennedy palms the golden necklace.

“Sure thing.” Kennedy pockets the locket and turns towards the doorway. “Be safe Ken. I’ll call you when I know more.”

“Thanks Doc.” Kennedy waves over his shoulder before leaving.

“Aurora,” Kennedy says to the A.I. as his cruiser flies down beneath the carbon clouds. Sunlight becomes gray fog the closer he ventures to the ground levels. “Upload footage from the morgue to the Captain’s console and tell him I’m going dark for a bit track down some leads.”

“Understood Detective. Be safe.” The dashboard hologram smiles at him before flickering off.

________________________________________________

The world around his onyx colored cruiser darkens to match his vehicle. Holo-ads dance past in neon streaks, the shine of the upper levels is but a faint dream compared to the filthy ground levels. The cruiser stops in an ally just of the main street of New Aldora. People walk past the unmarked car after a quick glance, all of them in hurry to be somewhere. Kennedy smiles as he stomps out the last of his cigarette, that lack of interest is one of the things that made him love the grounders. All of them to busy with their own issues to be nosy.

“Hey there Ken.” Alar welcomes the detective into a dingy bar known as the Orchard.

“Good to see you Al.” He hugs the large Ganymite. “Is the boss in right now?”

“Yeah, boss’nda office.” Alar nods his head towards the back speaking in the odd manner of his race. “Trix will want to say’ya first.”

“I’ll make sure to do that.” Kennedy pats the bouncer on the shoulder. The crimson colored woman behind the bar squeals with excitement when she sees Kennedy. Trixie, the bartender, waves a hand and a cocktails materializes in it.

“Here you go Kenny.” She hands him the drink before kissing him.

“I’ve missed you too Trix,” He downs his drink, “Wish I could chat more, but I got business with the Boss.”

“Ugh,” The Martian deflates into a pout, “One of these days you’re going to have to stop by just to see me, Kennedy Johnson.”

“I know Trix, I know.” Kennedy places the glass on the bar.

The woman behind the desk has her back turned to the door when Kennedy walks in. Her four hands move quickly, disassembling a hidden machine. Blue horns stick out from her white mane. Kennedy clears his throat to get her attention. The woman spins around, startled.

“Oh, it’s only you.” The woman relaxes. Her disheveled, worn appearance stands out more than normal to Kennedy. “What do you want?”

“Good to see you too, Dinora.” Kennedy pours himself a glass of Europan Whiskey, leaning against the minibar as he watches her resume work.

“Can’t you see I’m busy Kennedy?” Dinora grumbles.

“I can smell how busy you’ve been.” He sips his whiskey, “You really need a cleaning drone in here.”

“You know I don’t trust those damned machines to be in my bar. Now I’ll ask one more time. What do you want?”

“Fine,” he huffs, “I’ve got something I need you to look at.” He pulls out the locket.

“What’s so special about some necklace?” Dinora barely looks at it.

“It was found in the belly of my Jane Doe.”

“Not the strangest thing to happen in New Aldora.”

“She was killed by some chemical that doesn’t exist on the grid.” His answer makes her pause.

“That’s not possible.” She squints behind her cyber lenses.

“It shouldn’t be, but it is.” Kennedy hands her the necklace. “Is it worth a look now?” Dinora bites the locket.

“I would wager it’s Alpha Centaurian,” She hands it back after a few minutes of analysis. “I can’t say what planet though.”

“Centaurian huh?” Kennedy puts it away. “The old lizard here?”

“Zal’drid?” Dinora resumes working on her machine. “He’s probably asleep in his usual booth out there.”

“Thanks Din,” Kennedy starts to leave, “I owe you.”

“Just pay your damn tab!” She yells over her shoulder.

Kennedy dumps a bucket of water on a slumbering pile of scales known as Zal’drid. “What the hell?!” He fumes, relaxing as he realizes who woke him.

“You recognize this craftsmanship?” Kennedy skips to the point.

“How do you have something that ancient?” Zal’drid wipes the water from his face.

“Not important. Where’s it from?” Kennedy shakes the pendant in Zal’drid’s face.

“Ovidian, really old Ovidian. Second or third millennium for them. From before they left their star to rage war against my people.”

“I know you Cimmerians have hated them ever since.” Kennedy puts it away, “Now where would a Demi get something like this?”

Zal’drid hisses in agitation. “Subterran market, run by the Solarian Triads. No place for my kind.” The giant lizard leaves in a hurry, desperate to put distance between himself and the necklace.

_________________________________________________

Kennedy passes through the security scanner, entering the Triad’s market place. Weary eyes scowl and angry lips spit insults his way as he passes through the seedy Aldoran underworld. Kennedy’s saving grace is the pair of Ganymite enforcers escorting him through the market. Each one of them twice as big as Alar and half as friendly. The trio travel through a maze of market stalls, brothels, and bars housing illegal gambling. The absence of police is painted with the blood splattering the streets. Dead bodies are as common as trash here. Kennedy pays this gruesome detail no mind.

His two escorts finally lead him into a decadent bar. A crowd of onlookers cheer and yell around a small stage as a tailless Ganymite fights a three-armed Venusian. The gray Ganymite bites through one of the Venusian’s remaining arms, ripping it off and beating her with it. The crowd cheers louder as blood, booze, and cash flow through the air. Kennedy nods to the few patrons who watch him carefully as he is lead upstairs.

“It’s been a long time La’vira.” Kennedy says to the stunning yet fearsome Plutonian. The head of the Triad dismisses the escorts with a wave.

“That’s what happens when my ex-husband decides the law matters more than me.” The androgynous beauty bares their fangs at Kennedy. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t have you gutted right here?”

“This was found inside of a Demi who was killed by an unknown chem.” He shows La’vira the necklace. They grow rigid at the sight of it. “What is it? You’re the second person to react that way.”

“I suppose you Terrans wouldn’t know too much about these Ovidian pendants.” The silver skinned mobster hands Kennedy a drink, gesturing for him to sit. “When the fledgling Terran Empire collapsed, after the destruction of Earth, trinkets like that one made their rounds. You apes were busy trying to survive your self made extinction when it happened. Are you familiar with the Ripple?”

“Wasn’t that the galaxy wide catastrophe which decimated every civilization from here the edge of the Milky Way?” Kennedy vague recalls, draining his glass.

“That’s putting it mildly, but yes.” La’vira refills their drinks. “This was the first multi-planet mass extinction event in the history of the galaxy’s known civilizations. This allowed the Terrans to crawl back from annihilation themselves. Thanks to your planet’s destruction, Terrans were largely isolated from the other worlds at that time. My father was one of the first non-Terrans to visit the remains of Earth after the Ripple.” La’vira gulps down the drink, pouring another round for the two of them.

“That was half a millennium ago,” Kennedy says impatiently. “Terrans have helped to build the Federation since then to prevent another incident like what destroyed the old empire.”

“You are just as impatient as the first time I made you mine.” La’vira smiles to themselves. “Listen very closely, dear lover,” One of La’vira’s tentacled digits caresses Kennedy’s chin, “If more of these cursed treasures show up, it means there will be another multi-planetary event. I hope for the sake of the love we once shared, that no more of these retched things find you.”

“I don’t care about an old story,” He brushes the tentacle away. “I need to find whoever killed my Jane Doe. She had this in her stomach and was found poisoned by some new chemical.”

“I don’t allow such bad omens to be sold in my market.” La’vira gestures to the necklace. “The only chems we push are things that bring pleasure.”

“La’vira.” Kennedy says sternly.

“Don’t be so stiff Ken, we haven’t moved anything new in ages. There’s nothing in this part of the Aldoran underworld that can help you.”

“Which part should I search then?” He grins at them.

“Sh’lack.” La’vira curses, “Don’t blame me if you get killed Kennedy. This is something the Federation would bury beneath planets.”

“The Federation would never cause something like that.” Kennedy grows indignant.

“And Caesar never thought his Senate would murder him. I’ve told you what I know, now leave.”

_________________________________________________

“Captain, it’s Johnson.” Kennedy says as he drives away. “I’ve hit a dead end. All I’ve manage to discover is that the pendant inside the woman is ancient Ovidian. It supposedly has some connection to the Ripple. Marsh is still trying to identify the chem and identify our victim.”

“Understood Detective.” His Captain responds. “Begin the upload after we finish.”

“Yes sir.”

“Thank you for all your work Kennedy.”

“Sir?” Kennedy notices something off in his Captain’s voice.

“Nothing. See you back at the station.”

The hologram disappears. The upload finishes as the clouds begin to lighten. The cruiser is suddenly rocked by an explosion. It plummet’s to the ground engulfed in flame. The cruiser’s systems refuse to respond to Kennedy’s desperate commands. A secondary explosion rips the vehicle apart a dozen stories above the ground, blasting away part of a nearby building. A Federation drone fires a third shot at the cruiser before it crashes into the ground. The drone hovers long enough to destroy it with one final shot. Nothing remains but charred metal. Kennedy lies in a pile of glass on the tenth level of the nearby building, panting as he bleeds. He presses himself further into the glass covered floor, hiding as he watches the drone fly off. His mind grows hazy as he struggles to process what happened. A shadowy figure stands over him as he loses consciousness.