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Lineage

By Miikka64
03/29/2024 - 14:13:19

Type: Captain
Rating: -5 (Bad)
Tags: gaprop

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[INDEX 2/2]

Zarell suppressed a grimace and replied, "We are making progress, my lady, though it's slow going. Our forensics teams were able to identify that a number of the colonists were killed execution-style, with shots to the backs of their heads... and that the amount of missing people doesn't match the number of bodies we found and recovered from the wreckage. It's too early to say anything cohesive, but I suspect this has something to do with the 'Snatchers'. Perhaps they've figured out we're on to them and..."

"Let me stop you for a moment, Agent Zarell," the lady interrupted, holding up a finger, and Zarell immediately stopped talking. The female surisin leaned forward again, her face hardening as she spoke, "I didn't summon you here to talk about the progress of the investigation. I can read the reports just fine, thank you. Why you're here before me is to talk about the incompetence and negligence of the investigation."

"Lady Paramount?" Zarell asked, blinking.

"What is the number one priority of each of our operations, Agent?" the lady asked, her tone like ice.

"Um, ma'am... to maintain secrecy at all costs," he replied, uncertain.

"Exactly, to maintain secrecy," the lady said, nodding firmly before pressing a button on her desk. A hologram popped up between them, showing a screenshot of an article published by the Galactic News Network about Klemendia's fate. "Then please, how is it possible that the press is aware of the colony's destruction?"

"What? That's... impossible," Zarell gasped, eyes widening in horror. "There was a total communications blackout; there's no way for anyone off-planet to even know what happened, much less publish about it!"

"Nevertheless, someone leaked information about the incident for... let me see..." the lady said, tapping her holodeck and bringing up another image. "... half a million sporebucks. And the buyer has already been identified as a reporter of the Galactic News Network. As for the seller..."

Zarell's mouth worked, trying to find words. Finally, he managed to stammer out, "H-how..."

"Agent Zarell, did you really think we didn't have contingencies for such an occurrence? For one of our operatives to betray us and try to sell information on the side?" the lady asked, looking at him in amusement. "Spare me the trouble of interrogating you and admit the truth. You're the source of the leak."

"Yes," he admitted, sagging in his seat, realizing he'd been caught and the game, as they say, was over.

"Thank you, Agent. We always find the truth in the end," the lady said, a small smile quirking her lips. "How about that glass of wine now? You do know what's coming next," she asked, gesturing to a carafe and a pair of glasses nearby. Agent Zarell sighed and nodded, and the lady poured him a glass of the ruby-red liquid and set it before him.

"Ma'am, why the pretense? Why not execute me without all the drama?" Zarell asked, taking a sip of the wine and letting out a soft sigh of pleasure.

"I suppose you could say I have a thing for dramatics, but also... I needed you to be seen coming here. Tomorrow, your family will be informed that you've gone on a sudden undercover assignment and will not be returning for some time. And in a month or two, you will be discovered dead, shot to the head by a member of the group you had infiltrated," the lady said, swirling her wine, watching the patterns in the liquid. "When you're ready, close your eye."

Zarell's shoulders drooped, but he took a deep final breath, finishing the wine in one gulp, and then he embraced the inevitable. The room lit up with brilliant light as a blast of plasma drilled through his skull and brain, ending his life in an instant.

"...To maintain secrecy at all costs."