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The in-built mechanisms with which the self-cleaning, self-sanitizing lounge was equipped would deal as efficiently with the copious amount of blood as it would with any other volume of spilled liquid. Within a few timeparts, it would once again be as dry and sanitary as when the administrator had first entered it. The physical remnants of the innocent subordinate who had been on the verge of crashing down in ruins everything Takuuna had worked to build up presented a greater problem. It was highly unlikely the administrator would be able to smuggle so sizable a burden out past the night watch, all of whom had been placed on heightened alert ever since the first of the incidents against the AAnn presence. That meant that the body would have to remain within the administrative compound. That was not a potentially grave problem. What mattered was how, where, and under what circumstances it would eventually be found. Takuuna was confident he could find a solution to the conundrum. Setting his mind to the task, it was not long before he did so. Hauling the body from the lounge, he placed it on a small cart used for transporting local supplies and covered it with an assortment of items taken from the lounge area that were unlikely to arouse suspicion in anyone who might happen to see them. Returning briefly, he restored the lounge itself to as natural an appearance as possible. The lounge machinery was already beginning to clean up the mess he had left Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html behind. Guiding the cart through the dimly lit night corridors of the administrative compound, he made his way to the destination he had chosen. It was only by good fortune that he knew the personal code-key that unlocked the door of the workplace he had chosen. Once inside, he settled on a storage closet as the temporary resting place of the meddlesome junior administrator. Removing the corpse from the cart, he dumped it unceremoniously inside. That done, he exited the location, but not before reentering the locking code on the doorway to seal the workplace behind him. The cart he returned to the location where he had found it. Then, much relieved in mind and soul, he left the administration center and made his way back to his private apartment. After spending a few busy timeparts planning out the next day s activities, he then retired contentedly to his sandy divan, where he entered without turning or tossing into a sleep that was calm, sound, and without remorse. Arriving at the compound the following morning and preparing to pass through Security, he remarked to the last guard who was checking him through that the workers striding back and forth in the main corridor appeared to be in an unusually garrulous mood. You have not yet heard the news, then, Honored Adminisstrator? the guard asked, punctuating the query with a third-degree gesture of personal unease. Apparently not, Takuuna replied, though he had more than a slight suspicion as to the nature of the news the guard was about to impart. The sturdily built younger nye s reply was a hiss-filled mixture of indignation and disbelief. A good nye wass found murdered. Right here, inside the compound. His disbelief was plain. Murdered, truly? Truly. The guard added a gesture of second-degree astonishment. Doess the Authority have any idea who might be ressponssible? Vsseyan extremisstss, perhapss? A simple, unrated gesture of negativity. I undersstand that they are holding a ressearcher named Geelin for quesstioning, as the body of the unfortunate wass found in her place of work. I hear that the female vigoroussly professess her innocence, and that her reactionss appear to be clouded by bewilderment. Thosse sseeking the truth of the tragedy are as yet unconvinced. Takuuna voiced and gestured sadness. It iss regrettable to think that while attempting to pressent a more civilized example to our primitive hossts we can sstill ssuffer ssuch foolisshness among oursselves. As he passed the administrator through, the guard gesticulated glum agreement. Takuuna was not so cold that he did not feel a twinge of guilt for what he had done. Regrettably, he d had no choice. Saddled with a body in need of quick disposal, he had proceeded as expeditiously as circumstances had allowed. One could wish that the resourceful and intelligent Geelin would be able to extricate herself from the awkward situation into which he had cast her. He hoped so. He would enjoy mating with her again. If not, well, the list of females available to someone with his present status was Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html extensive. He did not expect to lack for company. He would move on. But before he could continue to expand upon his personal as well as his professional life, there was a certain small snag that needed to be dealt with, a persistent irritation, like a scale parasite, that needed to be removed. To accomplish the necessary excision he requisitioned a force of six armed troopers and a suitable aircar. In proceeding, he was exceeding his mandate from the Authority and thereby risking censure. He was prepared to deal with the potential consequences, gambling they would not be too severe. In any event, while his superiors deliberated the matter of possible punishment, the human, his story of survival, and any accusations he might be prepared to level would be rendered moot. Takuuna was confident in his ability to survive the aftermath of his actions. If the worst threatened to befall, he could always remind them of his irreplaceable brilliance by ordering the arrest of the one Vssey now known to be involved in the violent acts that had been perpetrated against the AAnn presence. The Administrator did not want to do that since it would mean the end of his special unit and the unique status that came from heading it. But the lever was there, if needed, and he could always push it. Besides, how severely would any fellow nye really want to punish him for the killing of a human? Gathering his small strike force, he departed Skokosas in high spirits and with the requisitioned aircar operating under a privacy seal, the latter a precaution so that no one could, should they suspect his intent, get in contact with him until he returned. His penitence over the framing of his mating partner Geelin receded as steadily as each new patch of Jastian landscape flew past beneath the aircar. Softly hissing sorrow, a mournful Yuuvab DDMWWLG let her eyes linger as they roamed over the remnants of her mating partner s short life. There wasn t much. Work attire, casual attire, personal entertainment blocs, the well-strummed, thick-stringed tharp with which he used to serenade her prior [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |
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