Date: 29.8.2450 ST (Secondary Timeline)

Location: Dimensional Labs, Neo Seattle outskirts, Neo Washington, Tribesta System, Aradrox Galaxy, Aleph Universe

“Okay, I have to see what is going on now,” Alicia said as she headed off to go home. “Annie, how are you doing right now?”

Alicia, to contrast her pool wear and her proper lab uniform, wore an emerald dress under a beige overcoat. Her footwear was, understandably enough, a pair of thick stockings under a pair of heavy duty working boots. After all, the land around Neo Seattle was still very treacherous, and the modern vehicles from the home world were nowhere near ready to handle the terrain. It certainly did not help that the planet Neo Seattle called home was, for all intents and purposes, on the outermost edge of the territory controlled by the home world.

“Just fine, sis,” Annie said. “I am just glad that you can come home with me today.”

Annie, from Alicia’s perspective on the matter, was in a way more decent outfit for outside the pool than she remembered her sister having. Her outfit consisted of a pair of black biker shorts under her beige thigh-length skirt, a tan long sleeved shirt, a black winter coat, a pink headband, and children’s sized working boots. It certainly fit her.

“That’s good. I just hope that you don’t do anything to get in trouble with our parents when we return.”

“I know, I know. Jeez, you don’t have to remind me all the time.”

Alicia nodded, looking for any sign of anything that could keep her at home. She really needed to be home again… unless you count the fact that her parents wanted to get married as soon as possible, to a guy of their choosing. That was not something she wanted to deal with it all.

Still, with a sigh of frustration, Alicia headed over with her sister to the front door of the labs. It would not do for it to be late, going back home. She wanted to make sure that her parents were not mad at her. It just did not sit right with her that her parents would be so authoritative for no apparent reason.

As she walked over to the foyer door, however —

“Madam Dimensional Overseer!”

— Alicia had to go back to her work mode.

“Big sis, what are you doing?” Annie asked, looking at her sister to see what was going on.

Ignoring her sister for a bit, the Dimensional Overseer turned around to face who was calling her this time. It was not someone that she had seen in her entire life before. However, she knew that it was an employee. “Yes? How can I help you?”

The employee stopped and bent over to grab at his knees, clearly out of breath. After a few moments of regaining his breath, he stood back up and said to her, “There has been a murder in the facility.”

Wait, what?

The Dimensional Overseer felt her jaw drop. This was not something she expected at all. How could she have expected that? “What are you talking about?”

"Well, someone had been able to get inside the office library. Once there, that person found, shot, and killed one of our scientists. Initially, we thought it was a woman named Chelsea Davis that was murdered."

The Dimensional Overseer pinched the bridge of her nose. "Oh, great," she muttered, before something hit her. "Wait, you said initially, right?"

"That is correct."

"Who do we know of that is the murder victim?"

"We have no idea," the employee said. "However, we are fairly certain that the victim is not Chelsea Davis. For one thing, the shoes do not match."

"The shoes do not match?" The Dimensional Overseer parroted.

"Exactly," the employee said, nodding. "We need you still in the facility."

"I would love to, but I still have to do my mandatory vacation."

"This is your first time taking a vacation in a long time?"

"Regretfully, yes," the Dimensional Overseer said. "I do not know about you, but I wish I could actually take my vacation to get it over with."

"Well…" The employee trailed off.

"What’s the matter?" The Dimensional Overseer asked. "Do you think I still need to work here for the time being while on vacation hours?"

Wouldn't that be a shame? She thought with a grimace. Of all the possible things that she had to do, this was not supposed to be one of them. She valued the fact that she could actually go home for once. That was the main point of her having a vacation.

"Well, it's not like I wanted you to stay for too long," the employee said. "I mean, what are we supposed to do about this murder case? Is there anything we are able to do about this? That's something I hope is true."

The Dimensional Overseer blinked a few times, before she slapped her face with her palm. Note to self, she thought. Find a way to keep the idiots from causing too much of a mess when I'm gone.

"Boss?"

"Yes?"

“What are we going to do about this?”

“Do you really think I have the answers for everything?”

Before the employee could do or say anything more on the subject, Annie started tugging on Alicia’s left coat sleeve. “C’mon, sis, we need to go,” she said in a tone that Alicia was struggling to remember.

“Annie,” Alicia said, turning to face her baby sister, her tone coming across as a growl, “learn to read the mood even a little better.”

“But sis—”

“Please quit whining, little sis. This won’t take forever, I hope you realize.”

Annie pouted, before she let go of Alicia’s sleeve. “Oh, boo. I hope you don’t decide to stick around longer than you need to.”

“I don’t plan to,” Alicia said, her tone flatter than a sheet of paper that just came out of being processed and packaged for shipping. “Now, please stick by me so that you don’t end up getting kidnapped again.”

Annie nodded, sagging into her clothes as she looked around.

“What are you looking for, exactly?” Alicia asked.

“A place to sit down,” Annie said. “I don’t know about you, but standing around the whole time really makes my legs worse off.”

Alicia pinched the bridge of her nose again. “Okay, I see now,” she said at last. “There’s a bench near the door leading to outside the lab where you can wait for me to show up. If I don’t arrive in five minutes, come back and wait for me here.”

“M’kay,” Annie said, skipping along to the doorway in question. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

The Dimensional Overseer turned to face the employee, looking him in the eye, before she said, “I really wish that I could stay and micromanage everyone at their jobs again, but I have stuff to take care of back home with Annie. I’ll be sure to work out a time to get back to this when I get off of my vacation.”

The employee nodded, before he walked over to an intercom. “I understand, boss,” he said. “We need to learn to deal with this while you are out of the lab.”

“That’s for sure,” the Dimensional Overseer said. “Now, I have some instructions to give you and everyone else. Are you able to hear them?”

“I can, but I think you should relay them as one set of orders to the whole lab,” the employee said. “I don’t think I can focus on my instructions right as you order everyone else around to where they need to go and what they need to do.”

The Dimensional Overseer put a hand to her chin. “Okay, you raise a valid point,” she said. “I may as well do this the right way, then.” She lowered her hand and walked over to the intercom.

Let’s see what I can do with this, shall we?

Activating the intercom, the Dimensional Overseer began to speak. “Attention, lab employees and scientists. As of this moment, I will be going on a well-deserved vacation back home to my parents house. This is not to say that I don’t plan to intervene if needed, however. I will be keeping an eye out and an ear open for the wellbeing of the labs. Please keep that in mind as you do your duties here. I expect a proper report about what the whole staff has been doing while I’m away, as well as a proper analysis of the different lab projects going on until I return.” With that, she deactivated the intercom and began walking back to Annie.

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“Uh, boss,” the employee said, mere moments before the Dimensional Overseer got to the door leading out to the foyer, “we need to know what happens now, what with the murder that happened earlier today.”

The Dimensional Overseer turned to face the employee. “Do we have the murderer under lock and key?” she asked.

“For now, yes,” the employee said. “That’s one thing we need to know more about, ma’am. What happens if the home world finds out about this?”

The Dimensional Overseer opened her mouth to speak, but paused before any words could come out. Of course, the home world would do anything and everything to shut down the lab and its facilities if they’d heard even a fraction of what went on around there. Throw in the murder that took place in the facility, and the whole labs were bound to be shut down indefinitely. On top of all that, the fact that the entire government of the home world and its territories wanted all the scientists to prepare for a government-sponsored destruction of the afterlives was enough to make the Dimensional Overseer’s job forfeit if they knew what she was doing.

I genuinely LOATHE the home world at times like this, she thought.

“Ma’am?”

“Sorry, what was that?”

“I asked about what happens if the home world finds out about this.”

“Well, let’s put it this way,” she said, raising a finger into the air. “To put it simply, our jobs and our freedoms would be thrown under a non-hover bus that moves at about 90 miles per hour. This is especially so when you consider that we’re doing things that are unauthorized by the government, which we’re doing to preserve all life everywhere. Does that make even a lick of sense to you?” She lowered her finger to signal she was done speaking her mind.

“Of course, boss,” the employee said, nodding. “Of course, we need to keep the home world in the dark about this. How are we supposed to handle that, though?”

“Leave that to me,” the Dimensional Overseer said. “I have an idea that will work out for us.”

The employee gave off a light sigh. “Okay, ma’am,” he said. “I’m just checking.”

“I understand,” the Dimensional Overseer said. “Now, let’s get back to what we were individually doing, shall we?”

“Certainly,” the employee said. “I hope that you make it to keeping your job after all of this is said and done.”

“I appreciate the sentiment,” the Dimensional Overseer said. “However, we need to part ways for the time being, if only to get to our respective places in life coming up.”

“You mean like your vacation, right?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Okay, I understand,” the employee said. “No, I don’t plan to interfere with your vacation time, not at this rate.” He shook his head to signify what he meant.

“I hope so,” the Dimensional Overseer said. “I need to go. I have some things to take care of at home, and the job waits for no person, man, woman, or child.”

“Okay, boss,” the employee said. “I’ll see you when you return from your vacation… when do you plan to return, again?”

The Dimensional Overseer pulled out a digital tablet from within her coat. “Let’s see…” she muttered. “I plan to be back at the end of the month, home world standard, and that means I have 25 days to be on this vacation.”

“How many days, exactly?” the employee asked.

“I’ll be gone for 25 days,” the Dimensional Overseer said. “Therefore, I have to make sure that nobody around here slacks off on the experiments or the proper security.”

The employee nodded. “Of course,” he said. “Now, I’d better get back to my shift in the virology department, then.”

The Dimensional Overseer nodded, waving him off to do that. “Make sure that nobody gets sick inside the department,” she said.

“Oh, very funny,” the employee said, shaking his head as he said that. “For your information, we don’t get sick in that department. We’re stopping viruses from affecting everyone.”

“I see,” the Dimensional Overseer said. “Just keeping you on your toes, that’s all.”

“I see,” the employee said, before he turned to face the foyer doorway. “Uh, boss, I think your little sister wants you to take her home.”

The Dimensional Overseer slapped her face with her palm. “Annie…” she growled. She turned to face the foyer. “Annie, how many times—”

“Big sis, there’s a big bully on the other side of the front door!”

Wait a second… a big bully on the other side of the front door?

The Dimensional Overseer hurried over to the front door, making sure that Annie was behind her this time. It took her a little bit, but she found out what Annie was referring to. There was a lawman on the other side of the front door, and his scowl was fierce.

Oh, great… she thought. How am I supposed to get this man to leave us alone?

Unfortunately, that never happened. “Open up,” the lawman yelled. “This is the Neo Seattle Police Department. I have a warrant to arrest Aaron Danielson.”

Back up… Aaron Danielson needs to be arrested? But why?

The Dimensional Overseer sighed, before she walked back to the intercom and activated it one more time. “Dimensional Overseer to Aaron Danielson,” she said. “You have a date with the law enforcement waiting outside the front door.” With that, she deactivated the intercom again.

I hope I’m not throwing him under the bus at this rate… she thought. That’d suck.

At that moment, Aaron showed up, poking his head out of a nearby bathroom. “What does the law enforcement think I did to warrant an arrest?” he asked.

“Beats me,” the Dimensional Overseer said, shrugging. “I’ll have to ask him for you, so get back to what you need to do in the restroom.”

“Okay, boss,” Aaron said, before moving his head back to the bathroom.

The Dimensional Overseer walked back to the foyer of the labs and opened a slot in the front door. “What crime is Aaron Danielson accused of, anyway?” she asked the lawman.

“Who is this?” the lawman demanded. “Are you that sick pervert’s plaything in this lab?”

“What the—sick pervert? Do you have a biometric record of this so-called sick pervert that you’re accusing Aaron Danielson of being?” the Dimensional Overseer asked.

“Stop dodging the questions,” the lawman snapped, “or you’ll be arrested for obstructing justice!”

What in the world? What’s wrong with this situation?

The Dimensional Overseer took only a second to decide what to say next. “I’m the chief scientist of this lab, the Dimensional Overseer, if you will. Everyone else is under my jurisdiction in the lab, and thus my employees. Now, if you want to do the right arresting, you’ll need to look for the biometric proof that Aaron Danielson is the one you really want.”

The lawman took out a metallic green stick from within his vest and put it in front of the Dimensional Overseer. “Do you see this stick?” he asked.

“Yes, I see it,” the Dimensional Overseer said. “What’s the stick for?”

“This stick is a replica of the Stick of Truth,” the lawman said. “It’s meant to be used to see if someone is lying. Green means that the person who’s speaking at the time is telling the truth, red means they’re lying.”

“Okay, well, can we keep this quick?” the Dimensional Overseer asked. “I haven’t had a vacation in a long time, and I’m about to go home for 25 days worth of vacation.”

“Of course, ma’am,” the lawman said. “I just need to make sure that you and your employees can answer a few questions for me before leaving for home.”

The Dimensional Overseer sighed, before she opened the door. “Come on in, officer,” she said. “However, don’t go past the foyer just yet. You need to be decontaminated first off.”

“Decontaminated? What for?” the lawman asked.

“Outside bacteria and viruses need to be cleaned off a person,” the Dimensional Overseer said. “I don’t want anyone getting sick from any sort of cross-contamination that might crop up.”

The lawman took a quick glance at his stick, before he looked at the Dimensional Overseer. “Okay, fine, let’s do this your way,” he said. “Now, before anything else, how old are you supposed to be?”

“I’m four years older than legal age on the colony,” the Dimensional Overseer said.

“Legal age on the colony, you say?” the lawman asked. “I’m not a native of the colony, I’m afraid, so I’ll have to ask you to elaborate for me.”

The Dimensional Overseer drooped her head momentarily. “I’m 17, which is four years above the legal age on this colony,” she said, her tone flatter than a pancake. “I’ll be turning 18 while on vacation, though.”

“Uh-huh…” the lawman mused out. He looked at the stick again. “Okay, so you’re a minor in the eyes of the home world, got it. Now, what makes you qualified to lead the labs here?”

“I was the chief assistant of the prior Dimensional Overseer,” Alicia said. “However, due to his being an inept leader, he was forced to retire about 25 months ago.”

“Why not someone with more seniority than you at the time?”

“Nobody else had the seniority in my position of the lab, nor the prerequisite training to lead the labs while dealing with the utter idiocy of the prior Dimensional Overseer.” Alicia shook her head. “This is not a good time to interrogate me, simply because you’re not here for me. How about you get the biometric proof needed that Aaron Danielson is the one you want?”

“Oh, sure,” the lawman said, entering the foyer. “How soon am I supposed to go past this room?”

As soon as the words left his lips, a burst of pressurized air sprayed over him for ten seconds.

“There you go. You’re decontaminated now,” Alicia said. “Feel free to check the biometric proof needed to confirm what’s going on here.”

The lawman pulled out a tablet from within his vest. “This should be proof enough,” he said, activating the screen to show the Dimensional Overseer what he was talking about.

“Er…” Alicia looked at the screen, seeing a picture that didn’t match what she knew. “Are you sure that this man works here?”

“What do you mean?” the lawman asked her. “Is there anyone else with the name of Aaron Danielson in the lab?”

“Apparently, yes,” the Dimensional Overseer said. “I should know, since the one I hired in the lab does not have this facial structure, nor does he have it in his history.”

The lawman took another look at his stick. “Oh, brother,” he said. “So far, no lies have been uttered so far from your lips. However…”

“Yes?”

“I need to ask the Aaron Danielson in your employ a question about this issue. Where is he now?”

“Last I checked, he was in the restroom, taking care of business in there.”

“Okay, that makes sense. Which restroom are we talking about? I hope to speak with—”

At that point, the door leading into the lab proper opened up. “Officer, could you please quit harassing the boss? What am I accused of doing?” Aaron asked.

“Oh, sorry… wait a second, you’re Aaron Danielson?” the lawman asked him. “Do you mind submitting to a biometric scan to see who you really are?”

“Fine by me,” Aaron said, walking over to the lawman. “How am I supposed to submit to the scan?”

The lawman held up the tablet and presented the screen to Aaron. “Please press your thumb on the screen,” the officer said. “We’ll need to use this information to cross-reference you in the databases. I hope this is alright.”

“May as well,” Aaron said, pressing his thumb on the screen. “I hope this doesn’t accuse me of any crimes I hadn’t committed, sir.”

“We’ll see what it has to say about you, Danielson,” the lawman said, shaking his head. “After all—”

Suddenly, the tablet gave off an announcement. “Analysis complete. Subject Aaron Danielson is not the same as the criminal accused of child rape and murder in the middle of the Expansion Rim.”

Alicia, Aaron and the lawman all stared at the tablet. “I just… what the hell?” Aaron asked.

“Sorry to bother you,” the lawman said, walking out of the lab’s foyer.

Silence prevailed in the foyer for several seconds —

“Big sis, what is rape, and why are you staring in shock?”

Alicia spun to face Annie momentarily, before she walked over to a wall and began bashing her head against it.

“Ack! Big sis, please stop that!”