I NEED A HERO (𝓒𝓞𝓜𝓟𝓛𝓔𝓣𝓔)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Nemera woke to the sound of her comm. It was Elian, telling her that Brooke Avery had finished the reconstruction and they could come and see it at their convenience. She made a quick call to Orr and Tau to tell them that she would pick them up. Within the hour they arrived at the Forensic unit.

"Elian's across the hall with Miss Avery," said Cha Niko, the Urkunu tech said as they walked in.

"Thanks, Cha." Nemera led the way, As she walked into the room, she was stunned.

"Wow, she's gorgeous," said Tau softly. Orr just nodded.

The reconstruction showed a beautiful tawny jungle female with the perfect classic black marks. Her ears were set with perfect symmetry on her head. Her silky black hair was thick and wavy, styled to lay across her forehead as the fashion was when she was alive and in her prime. Her eyes, golden edged with copper, were undoubtedly glass, but the way they were set made them look eerily alive.

"Are you sure this is what she looked like?" Nemera asked Brooke.

"It's a very close facsimile," replied the girl. "I use her DNA to determine her fur, hair and eye color and stripe pattern. The rest is based on averages and Roki physiology."

"That's just amazing." Nemera studied the bust closely, intrigued by the whole procedure.

"I've begun cycling her through facial recognition," said Elian. "But I'm afraid we're going to run into the same issues we had with her DNA and teeth because Roki records are notoriously incomplete. Still we may get lucky."

"And if we don't?" asked Tau.

"We'll try the Law Enforcement Net first," Elian replied, "If that doesn't give us an ID, then we'll have to make the picture public and see if anyone recognizes her."

"Won't Rakshasa see it too?" asked Orr.

"Probably," Elian acceded. "That's why it's our last option."

"And we'll have to take steps to deal with his inevitable rage when he finds out we have the remains," said Nemera.

"Indeed," agreed Elian. "I hope it doesn't come to that."

"It's too soon to tip him off," agreed Tau. "But if that's the only option, we'll just have to deal with it."

Unfortunately Elian's predictions proved true. Facial recognition came up empty, as did the LENET sweep. They made their way to Captain Prass' office still trying to decide how to deal with Rakshasa. As they approached, they saw Xavier Anais in what had become his usual place outside the captain's door. Sekani Prass was on the comm, and when Orr tapped on the door, she motioned for them to wait.

"I'm sorry," said Anais, coming to his feet. "I don't mean to be nosy and I'll butt out if you say so, but where did you get that picture? I thought I had seen every publicity still she ever had taken, but I don't recognize that one."

"Publicity still?" Nemera looked confused, until she looked down and realized the picture of the reconstruction was open on the data pad she carried. "You know this woman?"

"I believe so," said Anais. "I'm a fan of old movies and a bit of a collector of memorabilia. Unless she has a twin, that's the Roki actress Idrial Bayu. She made one movie outside Roki proper, here in Om Basset, in fact. It was for Viero Casta's Majestic Studios. Legend says that Casta himself convinced Bayu to leave the homelands and come to Simaliki with him. She made one movie before her previous patron came after her and took her back there."

"Previous patron?" asked Orr.

"Yes," said Anais calmly. "That was the pretty way of saying that she was his mistress. If rumor is true, and said patron was indeed Avrapat Tangor, it's amazing that Casta survived."