Star Law: A Marshal Cole Series

Chapter 19 (c)

Miguel and Boz, the captain's AI droid sat in a room in the back of the security office. Using the new search parameters, they were looking over hours of footage where the security cameras and flagging certain things for CICI to analyze.

"You are quite good at this Mr. Rodriguez," said Boz.

"It's just Miguel, Boz. No need to be so formal," said Miguel. "You can process so much more though and leave me in the dust."

"Humans have excellent pattern recognition and yours in particular is exceptional," said Boz. "You would make a great detective."

"You think so?" asked Miguel smiling.

"I know so," confirmed Boz. "Look at what we discovered so far."

Boz brought up the various still captures that Miguel had been so adept at capturing by using various multiple additional camera angles whenever a security cam went offline unexpectedly. There were seven pictures up of someone who was always just off camera with blonde hair.

"All we have is cut-off pictures so far," said Miguel. "I can't even tell if it is a man or a woman we're seeing."

"It is excellent work so far," said Boz. "I suspect the marshal would say it has occurred too many times to be a coincidence."

"Just wish we had more to go on..." began Miguel. He pinched his nose as if in pain. "I hear a faint ringing."

Boz turned to Miguel. "I hear nothing. Are you alright?"

Miguel's eyes began to water. "I'm okay but something is definitely the matter."

Before Boz could enquire further, ship-wide alarms started to go off. Shouting was coming from the main security desk just down the hallway. The first part of the conversation was garbled but the voice of the security deputy chief Jay Champion could be heard over everyone else: "Sir, we have video feeds from Central Plaza. People are collapsing everywhere! The AI has no idea what is going on!"

They heard the voice of Security Chief Volks responding. "Pull the alarm. Seal the decks."

"But chief, you're inside the zone," said Champion with alarm.

"I know," replied Volks.

With one hand over his ear, Miguel pointed with his other to the viewscreen in front of him. "Switch to active feed of the Central Plaza."

Boz switched the feed via remote signal. Several security cameras were showing people in varying states of distress. Many people were falling to the ground, some badly hurt. There was not a person who didn't appear to be in distress or doubled over in pain until a dark skinned man entered the top frame of the picture. In the background big pressure doors were dropping. Soon the Central Plaza along with the rest of the ship would be sealed off.

"He is not as affected as the rest," said Boz referring to the man dashing across the floor of the Central Plaza.

Still in discomfort, Miguel motioned to the screen. "Follow that man and set up a split screen and backtrack where he came from."

If Boz could smile, he would have. It was a smart spur of the moment decision that Miguel made.

"You really are good at this, Miguel," Boz said.

Miguel was in too much pain to smile. "I feel sorry for those people in Central Plaza. Even in this office the pain in my head is terrible. Down there, they can't even escape it.

Boz remotely activated split screen. As he did so, he ensured all data continued to be fed off-site to a mirror computer of the CICI database. He was following orders. The left side of the screen showed the dark skinned man move forward whereas the left had screen showed him going backwards a few frames at a time.

The people who were nearest to the running man seemed to suffer the most on both screens. It was obvious that some people were being badly injured or even dying as a result of falls due to their helplessness. Miguel rubbed his temple in discomfort but turned up the sound on the active feed. Screams and cries could be heard.

"What is causing this ringing?" Miguel asked.

"I am detecting nothing that would account for this, Miguel," said Boz. "Ship-wide systems cannot find anything either."

The right side of the screen continued to backtrack to where the dark skinned man had entered the Central Plaza. It was a corridor leading back to ship cabins. All along the way lay people unconscious.

Meanwhile on the left side of the screen the man onward. If he was aware that he was sealed in, he gave no evidence of it. His head though darted back and forth and he looked behind him as if being pursued.

Miguel was focused on the right screen though. "Where did you come from?" he asked aloud as he rubbed his face. "There! From that utility room!"

The image on the left side froze at a closed door. "I think you're right. Miguel. I will back it up."

There was no need for Boz to do that. He could review it backwards and forwards in his positronic brain but he found it was useful to review things with Miguel. The image started with the door and it swung to one side and dark skinned man burst out from it. And just for a brief moment a young blonde girl stepped into the corridor and slipped back inside the room.

"Capture that image! We have our... girl?" Miguel said. His last sentence trailed off as a question. It seemed strange to him that that suspect they were looking for might be a child.

Boz saved the image. "I think our main concern now is what is happening in Central Plaza."

Miguel was about to agree with Boz when the unthinkable happened. The man's chest exploded in blood.

"He's been shot!" shouted Miguel as the man crumpled on the floor, blood spreading out under the body.

Boz reacted with surprise when Miguel suddenly stood up. "What is it?"

"The ringing," said Miguel. It's stopped!"