Black Dust

"Detective?" A static voice spoke out of a translucent screen. Thick darkness covered the room, except for a faint blue light that shot from the same monitor, emergency lights, and other electronic equipment.

"Detective Praf, there's an incoming transmission to your terminal, may I patch it through?" The voice sounded again, answered with a snore unheard by the caller. It repeated itself until a small drone flew from across the room, and triggered the response button with an extended thin arm detaching from its back.

"The detective is... Occupied, at the moment. Do you want me to relay the message?" A computerized voice flowed from the drone, that hovered well above the desk itself. The arm returned to its place before the response came.

"Occupied? Well, uh..." The voice paused for a moment, and the drone cut the receiver before another snore broke the silence. Beyond the screen, the person spoke with someone else. "The message is urgent, so the chief appreciates if it'll be responded in less than five regulated hours."

"Understood, central. I'll make sure the Detective will be... Sharper than usual." The robot replied with a pinch of irony and heard a grumble. The caller hung up, and the drone began its flight back to a charge station.

"Thanks for covering up again, Trojan." A sleepy voice came from the person leaning on the chair with feet up on the table. He rubbed his hands on his arms, trying to dispel a strange moisty cold. The human wore a long sleeve tight jacket, made of radioactive fabric, with matching pants. Both bore the Galactic Peacekeeping and Security Enforcement (GPSE) logo, a depiction of the Milky Way with three fighters in a wedge above it. The man had trimmed black hair and a clean shave.

"Next time, I'll demand off the record payment." The drone replied, connecting to the station. Its red lights became as dim as the room.

"You mean a bribe, Trojan? I could send you to Ashsun for that." He answered, stretched out of the chair, and walked to his locker, just a couple of steps away. The small office held only a charging unit for the drone, a double locker, and a work desk.

"This unit is not programmed to be scared of threats." The robot replied with a tone of sarcasm.

"Cut the attitude, Trojan. We both know you're scared of that red furnace." He chuckled and returned to a calm look. He grabbed a scarlet striped, black jacket, a cap, and dressed up. He gazed out of a window to his right at the magnificent Thrinzen homeworld of Thelea, and its numerous space stations responsible for terraforming. The Thrinzen had spent the last decade restoring their home-planet into its original state before the Great Mutagen. Due to great mercantile activity in the area, the system became vulnerable to pirate activity. Precinct 1297 couldn't exist in a better place.

"Do you want me to play the message you neglected, sir?" Trojan said, drawing the man's attention away from the space view.

"Yes, hit me." He replied, moving back to his messy table. The drone played the message from the computer terminal. "And turn the heating up! This place is freezing." He sat down, also turning the lights on.

"Detective Praf, my name is Strels Qoda." The message began, with no visual transmission. By the name, the being could be anything, so he didn't bother trying to figure out. "I have a delicate situation of forgery and larceny that I'd like to discuss privately, and face-to-face, with you. Your Captain mentioned I could trust you with this. However, I'm not willing to divulge personal information via GPSE lines. Please contact me ASAP through the attached contact. I appreciate your help."

"What a shady guy we have here, don't we, Trojan?" Praf spoke out to the drone, which still charged quietly on the corner. He began to open the encrypted files the so-called Strels sent. "This guy wanted to make sure no one could trace his source. He secured everything from that call. I can't say if the average GPSE hacker could break this." He stood up again and whistled at the drone. "Good thing we don't have to know or sit around here while the decryption takes place. Make sure to program that to send me the information once it's done."