Musings

  Cathay    

Solaris City

Solaris VII

11 April 3061 

                    Detective Nicky Vale sat at her desk and pondered the case she had been stuck with. She had just interviewed the victim's replacement, and that was a strange affair. Normally MechWarriors were cocky and outgoing, but Lin Ming had been nervous, defensive, almost shy. The girl was cute for a MechWarrior, and in any other setting, Nicky might have asked her out. But she couldn't be sure yet what that nervousness was hiding. Was it the normal nerves around the police? Was she covering something up and that was what bothered her? The thought crossed Nicky's mind that maybe the girl was even nervous because she was attracted to her, but she quickly put that out of her mind. 

                    No, she couldn't rule out Lin Ming as a suspect just yet. In fact, weak as it was, she was the only suspect that she had. There had to be something going on at Red Dragon, but she had no way of finding out what it was. The corporate officers were helpful enough, but one could only glean so much from files. 

                    No, there was nothing more she could discern from the files that she had been pouring over. She needed an angle, an in, as it were, and the only angle she had right now was Lin Ming. She just had to figure out a way to leverage that into getting the MechWarrior to help her out. Without someone on the inside, the case was cold, a dead end.

                    #####

                    Lin Ming walked into the office of Teng Shen, her boss for all intents and purposes right now. The Capellan style was familiar to her, and the entire office let off and air of relaxation and calm. 

                    "Mr. Shen, thank you for seeing me."

                    He smiled. "Thank you for your victory in the scrapyard the other day. You piloted our test machine well. I trust all is in order with your payment for the bout?" 

                    She nodded. "Yes, everything has gone splendidly. I am happy to be a test pilot for Red Dragon. That is not why I wanted to see you. I was visited by the Solaris City Police. They gave me some disturbing information about the death of my predecessor. I wanted to make sure everything was on the level."

                    Shen nodded. "Of course. I also spoke to the Solaris Police regarding the unfortunate fate of Mr. Avellar. I assured them that his death was in no way connected to his work. Are you worried for your safety?"

                    She hadn't considered that. If her predecessor had been killed, might she be the next target for whoever committed the crime? "I suppose so. I mean, how can we be sure that his death was not related to the projects that you have ongoing here?"

                    Shen opened his arms wide. "Of course espionage is a possibility, but logically, you as the pilot are the last rung of the ladder that anyone would target for information. We have many techs and scientists on our payroll that have far greater working knowledge of the project than you do. Speaking of, did you disclose the nature of the project to the police?"

                    "No. I'm aware of the NDA I signed, and I would never leak that sort of information, even to the police."

                    Shen smiled. "Then there is no cause for alarm. You are safe, my dear. This business with Mr. Avellar is unfortunate, but do not let it color your view of our project going forward. You continue to pilot the test Mech, and leave all of the secrecy to us. Simply play coy if you are asked by the police or the press about our project. There is nothing to share, and there is nothing to fear."

                    Lin nodded. "Thank you, sir. I'm glad we could work everything out. Thank you for your time"

                    Lin Ming left the office, but couldn't help but feel that there was more to this story than met the eye. Should she talk to the detective again? What would she say to her? Was she just looking for an excuse to see the cute detective again? Why was she even thinking in those terms? There was so much going on. She was sure there was more to the story.

                    She spent much of the rest of the day nervously trying to determine what to do. After fidgeting with her phone, she finally sent a text message off to the detective, asking to meet to discuss the case. She had made her move.