VECTOR ONE, BOOK ONE: SET-UP

CHAPTER THREE::

	The IPC-115 StarSearcher was a solid cruiser design, with a long
history of service to the Tralkan Empire.  It had made a name for itself
as one of the most powerful and versatile workhorses of the Imperial
fleets during the Galactic War, and in peacetime continued to serve as a
powerful reminder of the Empire's strength and endurance.  No surprise,
then, that it was the vessel of choice for the Council Generals when
choosing their flagships.
	The OES _Shankara_ was one of the younger vessels in this lot

[...further establishing info on the Shankara, etc....]

	"Well, then," Corve smiled, leaning back in his chair.  "If
everyone here is convinced of the relative soundness of my plan, let's
decide who will contribute what.  Myself, I can provide the necessary
labor force.  Miana?"
	"I believe my technical labs can duplicate the device," Miana
replied, steepling her hands.  "Of course, they'll need something to fill
it with."
	"That's not a problem," Tylin answered.  "I have contacts that can
provide me with the necessary quantity of the substance."
	Corve nodded, satisfied with the results so far, then directed his
attention to the fourth person at the table.  "Well, General Onora?  Don't
you have anything to add?"
	Throughout the meeting, Welik Onora had sat in complete silence,
glowering at the wine glass in front of him.  Not for the first time, he
wished for some poison to add to it.  Spurred by this thought, he raised
his angry gaze to the group and growled: "Yes.  You all make me want to
vomit."
	Miana calmly stood up and leaned over him.  "How about something
more substantial, Welik?"  She was smiling and using her sweetest voice,
but her eyes told a much different story: just give us an excuse to tell
the Council what you did during the war.
	Welik promptly shrank under that withering glare, his gaze falling
downward once again.  "I... can get you the route Rath's ship will take."
	"Well, then that's that!" Miana said cheerfully.
	"Just one more thing, Miana," Tylin cut in.  "Can you be certain
that our meeting here will remain a secret?  I mean, all the people on
this ship--"
	"Are in my employ," Miana assured him.  "They see what I tell them
to see, no more, no less.  As far as they are concerned, you were never
here."
	"Forget the crew, what about -him-?" Welik grumped, angling a
thumb at Jhiro, who sat silent and otherwise unnoticed behind Corve.
	"Jhiro goes where I go, General," Corve replied calmly.  "If you
have a problem with that, you're free to leave."
	Onora's visage darkened again.  "If I was free to leave, Corve,"
he growled.  "I wouldn't be here."
	"Gentlemen, please," Miana interjected, plucking her wine glass
from the table.  "This is my ship, and I won't have this meeting ending on
a sour note.  Let us share a drink to the man whose career we have just
condemned to death."
	Corve and Tylin also rose to their feet, wine glasses in hand.
"TO SREEZET RATH!" they chorused, the chime of crystal ringing through the
room as the three glasses made contact.
	Throughout the proceeding, Welik Onora remained stock still, his
own glass neither leaving the table nor even touching his hand, his eyes
remaining focused on the surface of the table.  One thing was certain:
if there really were hells to go to, one of them had a special place
reserved for him.
	Assuming, of course, he wasn't already there.

                                * * *

	It was a brisk afternoon in the city of Tralkista.  A chill wind
was blowing in from the northern polar sea which, without some clouds to
aid in trapping heat, Tralkania's star could do little to mitigate at
this time of year.
	Nonetheless, Risa noted, it was still quite a lovely day.  The
wind might be cold, but it had also carried the pollution out of the city,
leaving the entire sky a deep shade of sapphire, turning to amethyst at
the horizon.  The winter season was nearing its end.  It wouldn't be
long before the telac trees would be in full bloom, and the annual telac
blossom festival would follow soon after.
	Risa looked forward to that festival, her favorite time of the
year, and she lived for days like this one.  If only for a moment, she
could forget the sickness that plagued so much of the rest of the galaxy, 
a sickness which, by virtue of her job, she was obliged to experience
each day.
	Then the moment passed, and she was obliged to return her thoughts
to her work, as her destination loomed before her; a monolithic brick of
white marble, the inverted red chevrons of the Medical Bureau neatly
framing the name which dominated the building's front facade: Kanes
Imperial Hospital.
	Risa maneuvered her gravcar into the parking area reserved for
medical and enforcement personnel.  A quick display of her badge prompted
full and courteous cooperation from the hospital staff.  After a short
walk down two corridors she found her quarry, exactly where they'd said
he would be, poring intently over a bank of monitors and data solids.
"Dr. Khadrium?"
	"Yes?" the doctor replied as he looked up from the pile of
information.
	Risa produced her badge once more.  "Agent Bedri, IP Security
Division.  I was told you wanted to speak to someone in our organization."
	"Yes!  I'm so glad they agreed to send somebody!" the doctor said,
quickly getting to his feet.  "If you'll follow me."
	"You said this concerns the explosion that demolished the Zaras
Research Center?" Risa asked as she followed him, noting that they were
headed for the secured medical labs, where potentially dangerous
biohazards and other 'risky' patients were handled.
	"Yes.  Ordinarily we'd simply file a report through the local
Imperial Police precinct, but we decided to go straight to IP Security
because... well, let me just show you."  He finished unlocking the
security system on the door they'd arrived at, and the two passed through
into an observation alcove.  In the medical bay beyond lay a single
patient, a young man with blond hair and tanned skin.
	"Who is he?"
	"We don't know," Khadrium replied.  "They pulled him and four
others like him out of the wreckage."
	"Terrorist?" Risa offered, though Zaras RC seemed far from a
suitable target for all the factions she was aware of.
	"That's the working theory, but-- oh, he's coming around!"
	Sure enough, the young man stirred and groaned, his blue eyes
opening.  He said something, in a language Risa did not recognize, though
judging by the confusion in his eyes he was probably wondering where he
was.  He noticed them at that point, and his gaze and speech became angry,
though still weak.  Perhaps he was trying to find out where he was, or
making some kind of political statement, though again Risa could make no
sense of it at all.  He railed for a few seconds longer, then seemed to
fade away and collapse again, unconscious.
	"He's been like that since he arrived," Khadrium explained.
"Constantly lapsing in and out of consciousness.  The funny thing is, he's
not really hurt that badly."
	"What language was that?" Risa wondered aloud.
	"I have no idea.  I was hoping you could tell me."
	Risa exhaled sharply through her nose.  This was odd, certainly,
but so far had failed to ring any alarm bells in her mind.  "Look, I hate
to be rude, but I fail to see why this merits my personal attention--"
	The voicing of her opinion got no farther than that, as Khadrium
turned to her with a large vial of some dark red fluid.  "Take a look at
this."
	"What is it?" she wondered.  It looked rather like unfiltered zela
wine, though a medical lab was hardly the place for such stuff.
	"It's his blood."
	Risa blinked.  "You can't be serious."
	"I took this sample not more than an hour ago," Khadrium went on.
"And it has so far defied all my attempts to analyze it.  I can draw
another sample if you like."
	Risa took the vial, peering at it more closely and realizing that
it was indeed the right consistency for blood.  #Red blood instead of
violet...#  Her eyes widened a bit as she abruptly recalled some details
in the reports from Zaras, that the technicians there had been working
on a new, more efficient dimensional energy tap...
	She looked at the unconscious form in the medical bay again.  #My
gods...#  The alarm bells had just gone off, en masse.
	Turning to face the doctor, she spoke more quickly: "You did
right to contact us.  I have to get in touch with my superiors
immediately.  May I keep this sample?"
	"Of course," Khadrium answered.  "I doubt he'll miss it."