S1E2: False Start
Last modified 4 months ago
The holographic call with Maren Veythros ended, but the fire it ignited in Selene Kelvarus’s eyes remained. This was different from any other job she had ever taken. A single, concise message flashed across her brother’s internal comms: I’m downstairs.
Up in the Kelvarus Dynamics lab, Dorian saved all the information on the destroyed Red, including his secret discovery about the digitally cleaned barcode. He saved the data to his personal, encrypted files before wiping it from the lab’s servers. He would not be taking his trusted assistant, Icarus, with him this time.
"Icarus, clean things up here," Dorian instructed the floating, jellyfish-like robot. "Send me an alert when you're finished. If I need your services, I will summon you."
The robot nodded its chrome dome and floated over to the grisly remains of the Red, its metallic tendrils beginning the methodical process of salvaging any usable parts for recycling. Dorian wanted to keep things looking as normal as possible.
"I have to depart early. Family business," he announced to the assistants in the main lab. "Icarus is cleaning up the current cadaver. Once he's finished, if you can assist him with bringing the salvaged parts down to the redistribution centers, that would be brilliant."
"Yes, sir," they replied in unison.
"Excellent. Don't work too hard." The assistants exchanged confused glances. It was his signature, perplexing sign-off.
Dorian rode the glass cylindrical elevator down, his mind replaying the discovery of the hidden code. From under his jacket, a small, golden, crab-like bot scuttled out. It was Ajax, his personal combat bot. "Alright, you can go where you're needed." Ajax crawled up his arm and latched onto his right shoulder, becoming a sleek, silent guardian.
The elevator doors opened, and he saw his sister. Her back was to him as she stared out into the bustling Blue District, Dex at her side. The glow-cat turned first, padding over to rub against Dorian’s legs in greeting.
"Hello there, little detective," Dorian murmured, scratching behind Dex's ear.
Selene turned, her eyes wide and lit with a fierce energy. She had a smile on her face. "This is it, brother. This is it. This is the case that will elevate my reputation in ways that I want… and don't want now that I think about it..."
"What, you don't want to be on Ace Bellerin's talk show and talk about your success?" Dorian teased.
"Oh, God, no!”
“You know he pesters me to try to get an interview with you, right?"
"I know," she admitted. "I have my assistants direct them to you. Sorry." A playful look in her eyes.
With a slightly annoyed look, Dorian says, "Yes, very well. Let's focus on this for right now."
"I have good news." Seline says.
"Oh, do you?"
"I know exactly where we need to be. We are in the right place. We needed to be in the Blue District and we’re already here," she said, her excitement palpable. "I got more information out of the Red snitch."
"Truly? Here, let's step into the lobby for a moment," Dorian suggested, guiding her toward his side office. "I have a private room where we can talk. Reds can," he tapped his ear, "pick up on things."
"A touch paranoid, brother."
"I just recognize you're excited. And I don't want your excitement to spoil things for you."
"Lead the way."
Inside the office, Dorian entered a code, and the room became soundproof, the cameras temporarily looped. "So, you got some information from the Red who was coerced into talking?"
"Well, we were able to scan his brain. Again, we have top-notch Blues at the Praetorium Building. None can match you, of course," she added quickly. "This one was quite hard, but we got a little bit of information, and that's better than nothing. This Red had a similar elements to the one brought to you earlier."
"Was his barcode cleaned?" Dorian asked, leaning forward.
"Partially. This is a real issue, Dorian. We must snuff it out!"
"I agree," he said, a grim look on his face. "I also have something to share. The Red you brought me… externally, it looked as though the barcode had not been cleaned. But when I took a more," he pointed to his cybernetic eye, "thorough scan personally, the digital code within had been partially removed, but showed no signs unless it were an in-depth scan. This is a very meticulous operation."
Selene’s excitement faltered. "So… oh, this is worse than we thought. You know what this means? That there are possible Reds walking in the city now that are possibly cleaned, but look fine."
"Yes," Dorian confirmed. "My plan is to make it easier for others to scan these barcodes the way my tech can. I'd like to go speak to one of my contacts, see if they can help me create a more… pedestrian way to check these barcodes."
"If you can, that would be amazing, we need a new device to find Reds who are hidden in plain sight and as for me, I will do what must be done," Selene declared.
"Yes, but causing a panic amongst the Reds is just as much a problem as causing a panic amongst any other district."
"I disagree," she said flatly.
"It does not matter what color shirt they wear. A torch and a pitchfork is still a torch and a pitchfork."
"We don't have time for your philosophical arguments, brother. I have a job to uphold. This is my life's mission. If I have to scan every Red in this city, I will do that."
"Selene, no one knows the weight on your shoulders better than I do," Dorian said softly. "But we have standards as Golds to show. The rest of Hyperion City literally looks up to us."
"What do you think Mother would do?" she challenged.
"Mother would get the job done," he conceded.
"Exactly. If I am anything less than her, then I will be looked down upon by her and by my peers."
"Listen, just because the Academy puts Mother literally on a pedestal does not mean that you always have to, too. But you know my opinions about mother."
"I do," she sighed. "But we don't have time. We can continue this conversation later back at my place when we're having drinks, toasting to a good day of investigation."
"I look forward to that drink. I believe it's your turn to procure said drinks."
"It will be done," she said with a faint smile. "Now, we must be off. There is no way the brightest minds are anywhere but the Blue District. As evidence, you are here. So, is there a Blue working with the Reds, with this uprising is the question?"
"It's not impossible," Dorian mused. "The intricacy of being able to remove a code from a Red without showing a visible sign of it… that is layer upon layer of a code and of a process. Hence me needing to get an opinion from one of the Blues I hold in very high regard."
"Okay, but do you trust this Blue?"
"Miss Keys has been working with me since I graduated. She is the only one I trust to keep around. The only people I trust more are probably you and the family."
"Well, just keep your eyes open," Selene warned. "We are doomed to repeat the past, no matter how long we know someone."
"That's very true. Stay safe."
"I will be okay, are you safe? Where is your little robot friend?" she asked, looking for Ajax. Dorian tapped the golden plate on his shoulder, and two small, crab-like eyes popped out, emitting a series of soft whistles. Selene smiled.
"Let's go! Dex, come," she commanded, and the glow-cat returned to her side, having been secretly fed treats by Dorian under the table.
They set a course through the pristine, meticulously gridded streets of the Blue District. A successful roll favored them, placing them right where they needed to be. Dorian sent a call to his top assistant, Reverie Keys, who was at a nearby medical facility for a check-up.
"Brother, this is where I will leave you," Selene said as they arrived. "I have the coordinates of where the Red snitch was picked up. I have a feeling I just need to go take a deeper look."
"Of course. Reverie should be here. I'll go check on her, see what she knows. Stay on the comms and… be careful."
"You're telling me to be careful?"
"No, I'm telling Dex. I know you'll be fine," he retorted.
"Dex is fine, aren't you boy? Let's go," she said, and they headed towards an alleyway. Selene began her investigation, activating a scanner and meticulously examining the scene. Another strong hit was rolled! Her favorable encounter came in the form of two Blues on their lunch break at a nearby table.
"Excuse me," she said, approaching them. "I hate to interrupt your lunch."
The Blues, recognizing her Gold uniform and the Kelvarus emblem, immediately stood at attention. "No apologies necessary. How may we be of assistance?"
"There was a… situation earlier. A Red was picked up in this location," she gestured to the alley. "I'm trying to find more information and wanted to ask if you saw anything."
One of the Blues, a stout man named Orin, spoke up. "Yes, the apprehension of D-1-0. I work surveillance for this building and what was reported was an unsanctioned gathering of Reds. When they were questioned, they scattered. D-1-0 was the one apprehended."
"So there are two more who were not apprehended?" Selene pressed. "They got away?"
"From what I understand, they did," Orin confirmed. "One of them disappeared into that alley," he pointed south. "The other jumped onto a motorbike and sped off through Primaris Street. The Greys didn't have vehicles, so that one got away easily."
Selene glanced at Dex. His spots showed a mix of calm white and a tinge of fearful green. They weren't lying, just afraid. "Thank you for this information. This is very helpful. You've helped out Hyperion City immensely."
"Is it possible that the minute and 48 seconds I've been speaking to you could be reimbursed for future break time?" Orin asked hopefully.
"Send that to my office," Selene said dismissively. "It will be handled by the bureaucracy of the Bronze." Dex's spots shifted to a soft, empathetic blue as he sensed the Blue’s internal sigh of disappointment. She sent a message to Dorian: I have a good lead. I know where to go next. I will wait for you.
Dorian, meanwhile, sat in a private medical room with Reverie Keys, an older, incredibly sharp Blue woman with a fully synthetic left arm.
"Sorry, Rev. Sister was in my head," Dorian apologized. "Thank you for taking the time to talk."
"It would be an honor to have the great Monarch in your head," Reverie replied, her tone teasing.
"Yes, an honor that I only have to take headache medication for every once in a while. How was the general upkeep of Old Reliable?" he asked, gesturing to her arm.
"I have noticed some more pains in my arm as I grow in age. But I'll be fine."
After a brief consultation, Dorian got to the point. "Rev, the reason that I'm here is… I need your help. My sister and I have been given a task from above. Your discretion is needed." He then quickly and expertly hacked the room’s surveillance, a successful roll ensuring their conversation would be private. "You remember those theories going around about barcodes on the Reds and ways to scan them more thoroughly?"
Reverie looked around nervously. "We're not supposed to speak of that!"
"Don't worry," he assured her. "The long and short of it is, there's a Red that has found a way to Clean other Reds and make it appear to the human eye that the barcode is still there. I found a cadaver where the coding beneath was partially gone. Someone is capable of doing this, quite expertly might I add."
"So the Tribunal must be losing their mind," Reverie whispered.
"Judging by how much our liaison was sweating, I completely agree with you."
"But… no disrespect, of course, but if there's anybody able to technologically do this, it would be you. I'm sure that's crossed your mind."
A flicker of frustration and worry crossed Dorian’s face. "I am concerned that someone of my skill level… or someone bold enough to utilize theories I may have waxed poetic about… has taken notes and is either sharing it with the Reds or, Hyperion City forbid, a Red is doing this on their own."
"This is why I need your help, Rev," he said, sending her the code he'd used to find the anomaly. "I need you to craft and put this into a device so that it could be scanned from a simple wrist-link."
Reverie was hesitant. This was dangerous, forbidden work. Dorian compelled her, offering an extended, paid vacation at a luxury parlor in the Gold District. She agreed, but with a counteroffer. "I'll do it, but you have to tell Selene that I know everything."
"I'll tell her," Dorian promised. "She has to deal with it."
"The Monarch… dealing with it," Reverie mused. "She's colder than my left arm."
"I won't tell her you said that," Dorian said with a small smile.
As he was about to leave, Reverie pulled him into a hug. "Just stay safe, okay?" Dorian, unused to such affection, froze for a moment before awkwardly returning the embrace. "You said it yourself. I'm a genius, and geniuses don't get caught. The good ones, at least."
He met Selene outside, who was tapping her foot impatiently, Dex circling her legs, his spots a deep, aggressive crimson.
"Did everything go well in there?" she asked.
"Yes. I will soon have a device for us to be able to identify Reds and whether or not they've been cleaned."
"A device? Perfect. You'll be working on it then."
"Um, I have someone working on it for me. Rev is going to take care of it."
Selene’s face hardened. "What do you mean, Reverie? So she has the information that we have?"
"Yes, that is what she needs in order to create the device," Dorian argued. "You want this job to go off without a hitch? We need to take every tool we have at our disposal."
"And if she gets kidnapped and tortured to get information out of her?" Selene shot back, her voice dangerously low. "If she gets taken, this is on you. If this information goes out, there will be riots in the streets."
"You think I don't know that?" Dorian snapped, rubbing his temples in frustration.
"You just put that poor woman's life in danger. I hope you know that." Selene says.
"Then I guess we better get this done quick," he said through gritted teeth.
"Dorian... you cannot make decisions like this without me!"
"Selene, I'm not a child anymore."
"I know you're not a child. So don't make childish decisions. Regardless," she sighed, forcing herself back to the mission.
"What did you find on your end?" Dorian asks.
"I found out that the Red, the snitch, was meeting with two other Reds. One went down south, this way. And the other… got on a speeder bike and went the other way. They could be anywhere in the city at this point."
"Well then," Dorian said, marching toward a nearby security camera post on Primaris Street, "I suppose we have a couple options." He placed his hand on the post, preparing to hack into the city's surveillance network to find footage of the bike.
He rolled to gather information. The dice landed.
Triple sixes. A miss with a match! 😱
A massive surge of energy exploded from the security camera, launching Dorian ten feet back. He convulsed on the ground, his cybernetic eye cracked and leaking a mixture of blood and technological fluid as he clutched his head in agony.
In that split second, inside the digital space, he had seen it. He saw the two Greys chasing the Reds. He saw one Red knock a Grey down, jump on a bike, and speed past. And then, for a fraction of a second, the Red on the bike had looked directly at the camera. Dorian’s heart sank. He knew that face. It was exactly who he feared it might be.
A voice, calm and familiar, echoed in his mind just as the system violently ejected him. “I can't let you do this. I'm sorry.”
Navigation
Home | Blog | Appendix | Listen | Support