Etti-IV

Spaceport – “Lounge-Side Tapcafe”



As Kaneda waited patiently for his “friend” to come , he took a sip from a cup of warm, and thoroughly much needed , Correlian Java. Rubbing his eyes he glanced outside at the spaceport, he could see through its huge gleaming windows that the sun was now beginning to set. He wondered if Primus would show up or not, taking another satisfying sip, he supposed it depended on whether he needed the money.

Checking his Chrono the operative smiled… Superintendent Grimlock would be getting his message right about now…

“…Dakena?…”

His thoughts were interrupted by a thick Ettian accent...

"...Ah... I was starting to think you weren't going to show up..." The Section operative quipped ,whilst gauging his newly acquired friend in front of him.
Primus took a seat opposite after glancing furtively around the cafe. Noticing this, Kaneda tiled his head slightly out of curiousity...

"...nervous?..."

Primus frowned a little as he replied...

"...I think I have reason to be..... I could get whacked for this you know...."

Kaneda raised an eyebrow at the Ettian's response, perhaps he had found something of interest after all....

"...well?... what do you have for me?..."

The Ettian, glanced around once more, before reaching into his pocket and sliding a small piece of flimsiplast across the table towards Kaneda. As the Operative read it , a slight smile started to develop...

"...Calgar?..."

Primus glared towards Kaneda in reaction , almost as if just saying the name in public was a hazardous exercise...

"...he's bigtime, nothing happens in this city without him knowing about it...word on the street is he ordered the hit...."

"..so it was a contract?..."(he thought aloud)

Kaneda leant back into his chair as he listened to the man speak, his instincts had been confirmed, after all , he had seen the footage, and the killer had seemingly melted away into the general crowd. The poison was exotic, and it needed to be handled expertly, it all pointed to someone....professional....

"...so this wasn't anything personal..."

Primus shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly...

"...beats me....you never know.... "

Kaneda retrieved the picture of the man he had developed from the footage of the murder, and showed it to Primus...

"..do you recognise this man?..."

"...no..."

The Ettians response was instant, a little too instant. The Operative observed that he hardly looked at it, puzzled at this , he was about to put it away when the man stopped him...

"...I, I could show it around if you like, ask some people?..."

considering this for a moment, Kaneda nodded in agreement and handed it back to Primus...

"...I ...er...have to go now, so ..."

As Primus stood up to leave Kaneda looked at him bemused, he had also observed that the Ettian had not asked him for any payment, which was not only just odd, but downright suspicious. Nodding in acknowledgement, Kaneda watched as the man walked away quickly, almost walking into an entering patron.

A nearby waitress spoke for his attention...

"...Sir!...your friend left his bag behind..."

Kaneda turned to face the woman who had spoken, then towards the direction of where she was looking, standing up to look over the table, Kaneda's eyes narrowed, sure enough, the Ettian had indeed left a small bag behind. He lept up from his chair and shouted towards the Ettian...

"...hey!...your bag!"...

The Ettian turned to face Kaneda then ran out of the Cafe, deeply concerned at this, a grim realisation struck the operative...

Retrieving a small blaster from his pocket , Kaneda launched himself onto a nearby table, and fired it into the air to gain everybody's shocked attention...

"...THIS IS THE POLICE! EVACUATE THIS BUILDING.... NOW!...."

For what seemed like a split second everyone seemed too shocked to move , until Kaneda fired one more off in rapid succession....

"...MOVE!..."

That was all the motivation the various patrons needed, and they rushed for the doors, (Kaneda could have been a gun-toting pyscho, or a real Espo, they didn't know or cared, either way, it seemed they weren't hanging around to find out)....luckily for everyone inside, the cafe was not busy, far from it in fact, this thought flashed through Kaneda's mind as he grabbed one of the waitresses by the arm and forced her roughly out of the door, (under great objections)...
He had barely gotten out of the doors as what seemed like the entire cafe became engulfed in a deafening explosion. As he and the waitress dived for cover on the floor , Kaneda wrapped himself around her to protect her from the flying pieces of debris that had been sent in their direction. Taking a moment to survey the damage , Kaneda looked down at the woman he had flung onto the floor along with him...

"...are you ok?..."

"...ah...er....no...not really..." Came the sarcastic remark back...

Smiling at this response Kaneda figured this meant she was indeed in one piece, and slowly he got to his feet and dusted himself down, the Cafe had turned into a raging fire now, with thick black acrid smoke spewing out from inside it. The shocked onlookers had gathered around, as well as those who had been inside near moments before, obviously counting their blessings.

The Espo's had already arrived, along with the Fire-Droids , who had started to gather their equipment to start to combat the blaze.

"...WHAT IN THE NAME OF!?..."

Kaneda glanced up to see a familiar face, albeit a very shocked one...

Superintendent Grimlock stood before the Vinda-Corp Operative , gauging the chaos in front of him…

“….what happened?…”

Continuing to dust himself down , Kaneda smiled faintly…

“…someone doesn’t like me being here…”

Still holding his cane with his left hand, Kaneda delved into his inside pocket with his right, and produced a small computer of some description. Activating it via a small switch on the side, his eyes narrowed as he studied the screen’s contents. Grimlock, still slightly stunned at the situation, couldn’t hide his curiosity as he peered over the agent’s shoulder…

“…whats that?…”

Turning to face the Superintendent, Kaneda responded…

“…a trace….

....Wanna make a house-call?…”

Etti-IV
Residential District - East Quarter - 21:47 hrs




"...you done good ...the boss is pleased..."

"...good then, where's my money?..."

"...relax... tomorrow , Tol'coth Station, 14:30...don't be late..."

"...I won't be...just make sure you turn up..."

Primus deactivated his comms unit and smiled to himself, he had made quite a bit of money lately, it seemed politicians getting bumped off was a good way to make a profit...
With this thought in mind, the Ettian decided to get an early night in....



Two Hours later


"...rise and shine!..."

Primus awoke with a jolt, as his whole bed was tipped over, (with him still inside it), opening his eyes to see the floor, the Ettian took a moment to get his bearings , before he found himself being dragged up by his clothes to face two figures silhouetted in the darkness...

"..What the hell!?...who the Hell are you!?, what do you think you're doing!?..."

He blurted out, his eyes squinting as one of the figures flicked the light-switch on, and all became suddenly apparent…

“…y, you!…” he stammered, as his eyes fell upon Kaneda….

“…surprised to see me?…” Came the operative’s quick reply..

“..I …I…” The Ettian seemed to be looking for the right words, but fell short as his attention turned to the rather burly looking Espo clutching the collar of his tunic with both hands, quite literally by the scruff of the neck. Grimlock was in no mood for playing games….

“…you are being arrested under suspicion for attempted murder, arson, destruction of both public and private property, littering, causing a disturbance, using controlled explosives without a valid licence…” (The Superintendent’s list was quite exhaustive…)

“…I can explain…”

“…oh I’m sure you can, and you will..” Grimlock responded gruffly…

“…h ..how?..” Primus’s face had become not only extremely worried, but also extremely confused…

“..how did we find you?…” Ventured Kaneda, sensing the Ettian’s question before it was asked. Slowly he walked over to a table in the corner of the room and picked up the small Comms-unit he had given the Ettian the first time he had met him…

“..homing beacon…”

Cursing inwardly to himself, Kaneda could see the Ettian was desperate, and slowly picked up a stool planted it in front of him and sat upon it, crossing his leg he spoke, and referred to Primus by his real name…

“…now , Mr Bortras, perhaps you can tell me why you just tried to blow me away, and don’t miss out the name of the chef who prepared it for me…”

The Ettian’s face froze, as if realising the gravity of the situation he was now faced with…

“…I …I can’t…”

Grimlock moved his face barely inches away from the Ettian’s face, and started to speak, continuing his list of charges…

“…aiding and abetting ,withholding important information and evidence, obstructing justice…”

“…they’ll kill me!…” Came the Ettian’s response

“..you’re looking at a long time here Bortras…perhaps we can cut a deal…shame for you to take the fall all on your own….after all…it wasn’t your idea now….…or was it?…”

Kaneda’s eyes glided over to Grimlock’s, and as if on cue he continued his list…

“…conspiracy to commit murder…” (Grimlock found himself interrupted)

“ok , ok!…I get the idea!…”

“…the name “ Grunted Grimlock

“…ok, ok, man!… it’s a guild, organised crime…”

Kaneda stifled back a smirk… this was almost too easy…

“…why you , and not one of their own?…”

The Ettian glared towards both of the men as he explained…

“…they felt you were getting too close, the picture of the guy you showed me is, one of the Guildsmen…his name is Zyroth … he threatened to kill me if I didn’t….”

Gauging the Ettian for a moment, Kaneda’s eyes narrowed…

“…this…’Calgar’ you spoke of….is he the head?…”

Bortras nodded his head furiously….

“…how do we get to him?…”

Shrugging , the Ettian shook his head, and Grimlock pushed him up against the wall…

“…I don’t know, I don’t know!….no-one see’s him….”

Sensing Bortras was telling the truth, the Superintendent, turned his gaze back to Kaneda, who nodded once in acknowledgement, as if agreeing with Grimlock’s hunch, and in reaction to this Grimlock relaxed his grip a little….

“…the guy in the picture…this Zyroth…take us to him…”

The Ettian looked deeply worried at this prospect…

“…I…I’m not sure I can…” Grimlock’s grip tightened in response almost straight away…

“…ok, ok!…I am supposed to meet him tomorrow for payment… Tol'coth Station, 14:30hrs…”

Raising an eyebrow at this information, Kaneda moved his gaze back to the Superintendent who smiled slightly in response. Rising from the stool ,Kaneda straightened his tunic…

“…thank you Mr Bortras…you’ve been most helpful…”



As a couple of Espo’s led the Ettian away, Kaneda rested his hand on his lip as he thought about the next step, Grimlock approached him…

“..what are you thinking about?…”

Kaneda frowned…

“…theres something not right about all of this… you saw the pictures from the footage I left for you yes?…”

The Superintendent grunted in acknowledgement…

“…yes..we have not been able to find the notes, they must have been lost…”

Kaneda shook his head…

“…no, they have been taken deliberately from the scene…”

Grimlock frowned deeply…

“..what are you saying?…”

Sighing slightly, the Section Operative didn’t directly answer the question, instead he turned to face the Superintendent, and handed him one another picture…

“…look closer…”

Grimlock , stared at the picture, a little confused, and Kaneda spoke, whilst he studied it…

“…does the Ambassador usually wear gloves?…”

The Espo scratched his head…as Kaneda spoke once more

“…lets see what this Zyroth has to say , yes?…”

Nodding cautiously Grimlock smiled a little, as he pulled a comms-unit from his pocket …

“..don’t worry , we’ll have the whole area staked out, he won’t know whats hit him…”

As Grimlock went to speak, Kaneda, (going on a hunch), stopped him…

“…lets keep this quiet, don’t inform the Commisar, and don’t tell anyone what its for…yet..”

Frowning , Grimlock shook his head…

“..its procedure…”

Kaneda smiled…

“…trust me…”





Tol'coth Station

14:20hrs… The next day




Both Kaneda and the Superintendent studied the scene before them from their unmarked LAV chariot,parked up outside the station…

Despite it being very busy with commuters going back and forth, their eyes were firmly planted on their informant , and Bait, Bortras, who didn’t exactly seem wholly comfortable with the whole idea….

“..he’s here…”

Grimlock put words to Kaneda’s thoughts , as a figure approached Bortras, and before any of them could react , the figure seemed to swing his arm around in one swift, deft movement, straight for Bortras’s head, Bortras didn’t see it coming and was floored…

Kaneda’s eyes narrowed in concern…

“…he’s going to kill him…” (and barged through the door of the chariot towards the two )

“so much for being subtle…” Grumbled Grimlock as he followed after the Operative.."

The figure stopped abruptly as he caught sight of Kaneda , and in a flurry of movement had retrieved a small blaster and aimed it directly towards the Section agent. Almost in direct reaction several people within the general crowd noticed and shouted out to warn everyone….

“He’s got a gun!…”

Suddenly the crowd seemed to disperse, as people ran from the attacker, Kaneda became caught up in a mass of people as they tried to flee from the man, and as he shot towards the Vinda-Corp agent, his bolt flashed into the back of a bystander who just happened to run in front of Kaneda right at that moment.
The victim fell instantly , and as Kaneda ran over to help the man, he realised the victim had died instantly, glancing up towards the Killer Kaneda watched as the figure ran further into the station, clutching his cane tightly Kaneda leapt up to pursue him…

Rubbing his sore head, and unsteadily rising to his feet , Bortras yelled towards an already out of breath Grimlock , and pointed into the station …

“…in there!…”

Muttering under his breath , Grimlock followed as fast as his rather portly frame would allow him too...

As Kaneda pursued the attacker , he watched him dart through a set of doors, reading the sign on the door the Operative unsheathed his blade from inside his cane, and slowed down. Realising the attacker had led him into a supply warehouse, Kaneda paused to survey the area whilst cautiously adopting his combat stance…and quietly inched through the doorway, ignoring the “Closed to the public” sign that had been ominously put above the door frame…

The room was huge, stacked full of boxes and plastic containers all waiting to be shipped off to their required destinations, and as Kaneda carefully made his way into the centre of the room a muffled cry seemed to emanate from behind him…

“…p-please…let me go!”

As Kaneda turned around he became face to face with the attacker, and a woman the man was hiding behind, he was holding her hostage with the blaster directly at her head, the woman seemed fine but understandably scared…

“…Drevago warned me you’d be a problem…”

Zyroth said, as he aimed his blaster towards the Section agent…

“…I don’t give up easily…” Replied Kaneda, as he narrowed his eyes towards the guild assassin..

“…Calgar knew you Vinda-people would interfere….”

Kaneda didn’t respond and didn’t move, instead he kept his gaze frozen onto the attacker, waiting for the right moment…

A familiar voice broke the silence…

“…Give it up Zyroth!…”

Swinging both his attention and his gun to his left side , the attacker turned to face the source of the voice, and Grimlock froze seeing the gun pointed at him as he came thundering in…

Unmoved by the interruption Kaneda saw this as his chance, and in the blink of an eye, thrust his blade towards the assassin, putting all his weight into the throw. Catching the movement in the corner of his eye , Zyroth was just in time to see the flurry and glint of metal , right before it impacted into his throat with a sickening thud…

As Zyroth fell back from the force, his grip on the woman failed, and she ran from him screaming at the gruesome sight. As if in a final act of desperation he fired a couple of rounds towards the section agent, missing him entirely, until he fell to the ground… gargaling and wheezing in pain...

Calmly walking over to the body, Kaneda bent down to check the man’s pulse, then grimly pulled his blade free from the man’s body, wiping the blood away on a small piece of cloth he found on the floor…

He spoke without taking his eyes off the man’s body…

“…you told someone didn’t you?…”

Grimlock , who was still a little dumbstruck at what he had just seen, grunted a reply towards the Section agent…

“..I was under order’s from Drevago, the Ambassador’s aide…. I … I didn’t know…”

Kaneda smiled faintly towards the Superintendent , who appeared to be looking at him in a new light…

“…I know you didn’t …but I think its time we spoke to someone who did…don’t you?…”

Glancing down towards the dead man on the ground then back up to Kaneda, Grimlock simply nodded.

Etti-IV

Ambassador Jaleric’s Personal residence - 17:45 Hrs




“…a drink Mr Vinda?…”

“…yes….yes thank you, A Scotch please…”

The Vinda-Corp CEO glanced around the huge room as Ambassador Jaleric poured both himself and Vinda a drink. The Ambassador’s private retreat was impressive to say the least, Vinda had been invited to stay the weekend to discuss many burning political issues, and he had taken up the offer.

The residence was certainly luxurious , and overlooked a private stretch of beach, its huge plexi-glass windows offering up a stunning view of one of Etti-IV’s many oceans…

As the two Vinda-Corp men made themselves comfortable, Jaleric turned around to face Achinta….

“…oh I’m sorry, you are so quiet I almost forgot you were there!…would you care for a drink?…”

“…he’s on duty”

Vinda interjected with a wry smile upon his face, and as if on cue, Achinta slowly shook his head, and declined the offer. Handing a glass of amber liquid to Vinda , the Ettian Ambassador smiled…

“…is it really necessary to have a bodyguard?..”

Following the Ambassador’s line of sight to Achinta, Vinda tilted his head slightly as he felt a twinge of pride…almost fatherly….it was a kind of sentimental gaze, as the businessman briefly thought about how much the two had been through together. Taking a sip of his drink Vinda turned his attention back to the Ambassador…

“…well, Achinta is more than just a bodyguard, he is quite the diplomat, and if anything should happen to me, he is quite capable of taking care of things….”

Achinta seemed to develop a slight smile as he heard them talk….

“…some people use entire fleets or armed troops , I have found Achinta to be the only insurance I need…I wouldn’t trust anyone else”

Nodding slightly at this the Ambassador laughed and spoke towards the HRD…

“…that’s quite a reference there Mr Vega, should you ever leave Vinda-Corp needing employment…consider a space reserved for you here…I could do with someone of your obvious expertise…”

Bowing slightly Achinta spoke, his manner congenial..

“….you are most kind ,I am certain it would be a great honour, Ambassador…”

Jaleric’s eyes narrowed a little as he gauged the Assistant’s response…

“..ah…I see what you mean…. reciprocates my compliment, but cautiously avoids answering my question to not cause offence….very good indeed…”

The Ambassador’s observations were met by a slight nod of acknowledgement from Achinta, and a slight chuckle from Vinda…

As Jaleric gestured for Vinda to sit down, he followed suit, and soon the two found they had plenty to talk about, the economy, the Sector in general , and of course the current situation regarding Bretta….

Slowly the late afternoon became late evening , and Vinda was just finishing the last of his drinks when both the Ambassador and he were interrupted by a small alert, there was someone at the door….tutting loudly the Ambassador put his glass down and went to answer it, excusing himself to his guests…

As the door slid aside, Jaleric’s face frowned deeply as he stared at the man in front of him in disbelief…

“…Bortras?..what in the name of Vader…”

The Ambassador stopped cold as two more men appeared, two men, who up until now, had remained out of sight…

“..what the!?…who the hell are you?…”

Jaleric’s eyes narrowed as he slowly recognised one of the figures….

“…Superintendent Grimlock?…. I’ll have your job for this…what is the meaning of this?…”

Grimlock remained silent, as the other figure, Kaneda Soom, spoke…

“…this is the guy?…”

Bortras nodded, too ashamed to speak, instead Kaneda fixed his gaze upon the Ambassador and smiled almost menacingly….

“…are we disturbing you…Calgar?…”

Sensing things were about to blow up in his face, the Ambassador quickly closed the door , locking it before either men could stop him , briskly he walked back into where Vinda and Achinta were patiently waiting…

Vinda of course was oblivious…but couldn’t help raise an eyebrow at the sudden change of demeanour the Ambassador had seemed to have undertaken, he cast a quick glance over to Achinta as Jaleric paced up and down, then stood up to speak…

“…is everything alright Ambassador?…”

“…no its not…you and your bloody interference!…”

Taken aback at this outburst, Vinda simply stood there, looking on as the Ambassador abruptly ran out of the room via an exit the other side , leaving both Vinda and Achinta looking at each other blankly…This did not last long however as an almighty crash resounded across the room…
Almost dropping his glass Vinda jumped , and watched in astoundment as three men barged their way into the building and the room itself…

“…which way?…”

Yelled Kaneda not stopping to take a breath…recognising the Operative instantly Vinda pointed to where the Ambassador had disappeared to barely seconds ago…
..and in a flurry of black, the agent followed….

Both Vinda and Achinta regarded the Superintendent for moment , but before either could ask what was going, Kaneda came literally diving back into the room, along with a barrage of heavy laser-fire…Letting go of his drink Vinda dived behind the couch for cover…closely followed by Grimlock and his, (now handcuffed) informant…

“…what the FRELL is going on!?…”

Vinda shouted towards Kaneda as another volley of laser-fire flashed over his head. Kaneda dived behind the small bar , narrowly avoiding a tirade of laser-bolts headed straight for his direction. The Operative covered his head as bottles of drinks and glasses impacted and exploded above him , showering him in glass…The agent managed to shout a response back…

“…Jaleric!, he’s the Guild-leader!…. he was the one who ordered Takius murdered!…”

Realising what the Operative had just said, Vinda glanced imploringly towards Grimlock , who nodded in agreement…

“…its true!… he’s responsible for everything!…”

Meanwhile , Achinta, had pressed himself firmly up against the wall once the laser-fire had started, waiting for the person responsible to come through the doorway…and soon enough, a metallic figure lumbered into the room…

Kaneda caught sight of the HRD , and shouted over to him….

“…a Xim War robot!…”

(his statement was met with another blast of laser-fire barely missing the operative by inches…)

Vinda’s face seemed to drain of all colour at the mention of what they were facing, wincing at another volley , he yelled out to none in particular…

“…a what?… where the frell! Did he get one of those!?…I don’t have one of those!”

As Vinda glanced over , his eyes met with Bortras’s ,and he shrugged in response, as if trying to answer Vinda’s outburst…

In an effort to distract the droid, Kaneda bolted from behind the bar and ran straight past the droid to exactly where it had came from, almost immediately the Robot turned round and started to follow the agent, letting loose a rapid wave of laser-fire after him, filling the hallway with smoke and fire….

Realising what Kaneda was doing, Achinta ran out from where he was covering and ran after them both, leaving a harassed looking Vinda , muttering something about luck , and wasting good scotch, under his breath….

Launching himself onto the floor, Kaneda hit the deck , hard, as a small explosive grenade seemed to shake the entire house, singing his clothes, and , of course, himself, he cursed under his breath as a rather obvious thought flashed through his head…

….this wasn’t a good idea…

Recalling his historical files on the the War-Robots, Achinta realised that Jaleric had to be controlling it from somewhere, and whilst Kaneda ran for his life with the Robot in pursuit, the Bodyguard quickly scanned around the house as he ran. As another explosion rocked the house, Achinta switched to infra-red, and stopped in his tracks, abruptly…


From inside the control room Jaleric cursed under his breath as yet another round of laser-fire missed the Section operative, begrudgingly he had to give the man credit, he could dodge and move faster than a damned swoop racer…

He pounded the controls in frustration, as he watched on the monitors…

His thoughts were interrupted in a deafening crash of dust and rubble. As he turned around to see the cause, a tall figure emerged through the dust , and before he could react , Achinta had grasped his neck with one outstretched arm and had lifted him off the floor with disturbing ease, the bodyguard spoke impassively…

“…call it off…”

Struggling to breathe, Jaleric gasped in acknowledgement and as Achinta lowered him down, the Ettian punched some commands into the Keypad…

Further down the hallway Kaneda stopped suddenly, realising he was at a dead-end with his back to the wall, he glanced around for a way out, but to no avail as the War-Robot clumped to a standstill in front of him….As it raised its arm to shoot, he prepared himself….

..and nothing happened…

Instead a familiar voice came through over the house comms…

“…could you please check on Mr Vinda, agent 239…”

Exhaling deeply in relief, Kaneda glanced up at the small security camera where Achinta had obviously spotted him, and nodded a simple thanks…


Soon enough the local authorities arrived , and as a much ruffled Vinda emerged with the entourage of people from inside the now smoking house, the Espo’s cuffed Jaleric and shoved in the back of a speeder…
Glancing up at the Section Operative, Vinda grumbled loudly…

“…if anyone else invites me over to their personal residence, remind to refuse…”

Kaneda watched as Grimlock ordered the Espo’s and the fire-department to get to work , and gave a simple bow out of respect as the Superintentdant glanced in his direction, the Espo smiled and gave a nod back…. It was enough.

Though Grimlock certainly had a great deal to report to his Commissar… Who appeared to be just as shocked and confused as everyone else...

Dusting himself down Achinta walked over to where the Ambassador was being held , and spoke with the subtle traces of a wry smile...

"...I'm afraid , Ambassador, I am going to have to decline your offer..."

...and with that, turned around , leaving the glowering Guild-leader seething in the back of the speeder....

Over the next days and weeks that followed , Ambassador Jaleric was found to be guilty of murder, and indeed many other crimes , to protect his and his Guild’s investments. During the trial it was made clear that he had been opposed all along to Etti-IV’s induction into the Corporate Commonwealth , and had tried everything at his disposal to prevent it, the Vinda-Corp sponsored police and patrol force was a clear threat to his and his Guild’s existence, and to organised crime in general.

Ultimately this did little to hinder the process, and ironically his attempts at sabotaging both Etti-IV and Bretta’s membership into the Commonwealth , provided the much needed momentum to get the induction back on track. The following three months saw both planets come under the Commonwealth’s protection, Jaleric’s efforts had done more to bolster both public and political opinion than Vinda-Corp’s P&R department could ever do.