Elinsys and Melora moved with haste towards the Interior office. Outside of the building was gathered a small crowd of onlookers, murmuring between themselves.

“Who is dead?”

“You think it’s an Interior power thing?”

“I overheard that it’s a bloodbath in there.”

Elinsys pushed past the gathered civilians to the two guards standing in front of the entrance. “I have a scheduled meeting, let me in.”

“There is a corpse in there, I would suggest returning after it has been removed, ma’am.” A guard replied.

“Who has been murdered?” Melora asked, standing behind Elinsys.

“That is classified information, ma’am.” The other replied.

“Please move on, all of you!” The guard shouted to the crowd.

The other guard raised her hand to her helmet. “Turox one here. Copy. Yes, ma’am.” She lowered her hand. “You two are Commodore Melora and Major Elinsys?”

“Yes.” Melora answered.

“Our superior wants to talk to you, come on in.” The guards moved and allowed the pair to enter.

Elinsys and Melora moved down the hallways. “So, you think that interrogation is still going to happen?” Elinsys asked.

“Knowing my sister-in-law. Definitely.” Melora answered.

“Unless she is...” Elinsys said, looking at Melora intently.

Melora’s eye twitched. She had an expression of surprise, shock and contemplation on her lips. “That would be...”

“There you are!” A voice shouted from behind them.

Elinsys turned and saw Bea’ti standing there. “Rather terrible.”

Melora turned around. “Hello Bea’ti, have you seen Kar?”

Bea’ti walked up to Melora. “Yes, I escorted him to his hotel room and… well, he was looking rather down. Why are you so cruel to him?”

“You should stop flirting with him, stop trying to steal my husband.”

“He isn’t your property, sis; by law he can have more than one wife.”

Elinsys coughed. “So, who is dead?”

Bea’ti looked rather annoyed, but stepped back. “We don’t know.”

“Why? How? Isn’t that the first thing you should know?” Elinsys asked.

“Well, Miss Detective, how about you take a look? Maybe you can enlighten us?” Bea’ti said in a sarcastic tone.

“Sure, show me the way.” Elinsys replied, making Bea’ti roll her eyes.

“As you wish, but I must warn you. It is a bloodbath.” Bea’ti pushed past Elinsys and Melora and moved down the hall. They followed her.

“The body was found by the janitor a few hours ago. We kept it quiet as long as possible, but someone on the staff blabbered. It was found in an office. Mine.”

“Sounds like a message, but why do you refer to it as ‘it’?” Elinsys asked.

“Because it has been mutilated.” Bea’ti stopped next to the door covered with Interior tape and opened it. Elinsys and Melora looked in.

In the middle of the room was the corpse, rotting with flies flying around it. Bones sticking out of what once was the ribcage. Its head missing, limbs gnawed off their joints. Leaving behind nothing but a mangled torso and a leg.

Melora covered her nose and mouth. “Damn you Bea’ti. Could have warned us.”

“I did say it was a bloodbath.” Bea’ti replied, a smile on her face. Until she smelled the stench of death and covered her nose.

“The sarcastic tone didn’t help.” Elinsys responded, walking into the room and stepping up to the corpse.

Blood covered every inch of the corpse and the floor around it, but it was not a pool, rather it was made to resemble some kind of symbol. A circle was made around the body, with spikes moving through the body outward, going over the circle. It reminded Elinsys of a compass, but the number of lines was wildly different in each section. In the right top section there was only one, rather wide and long. In the bottom right there were dozens of small and short ones, barely crossing the circle. On the left side it was the same, but reversed.

“Any idea why these markings?” Elinsys asked Bea’ti.

“Nope, the corpse lady didn’t know about it. She took a blood sample and went to her lab.” Bea’ti responded.

“Corpse lady?” Melora asked, still covering her nose.

“The morgue overseer. Said she will try and identify the victim.” Bea’ti stared down the hallway, trying to not look at the corpse.

Elinsys tried to gather anything she could about the corpse, but the mutilation made it impossible. If it didn’t have purple skin, which to be fair was now more blue, she couldn’t say it was even a Shil’vati. “Any camera footage?”

“Nope, the cameras were smashed. Their lenses to be more precise.” Bea’ti answered, a tone of not caring on her lips.

Like on the Wasted Hope. Elinsys thought to herself.

Elinsys walked out of the room and turned to Bea’ti. “Do you want to have that interrogation or shall we table it for now?”

“As soon as my office isn't being occupied by part of an unknown body, we can have it.” Bea’ti answered.

“I think you should find a new one. I doubt you will get the blood, stench and the flies out anytime soon, if ever.” Melora said.

“Tomorrow then?” Elinsys asked.

“No, we will use another room. Both of you come with me, my entire schedule is definitely ruined now.” Bea’ti said, pulling Elinsys and Melora with her into another room and then sitting them down.

“Now tell me about the Golden Dust.” Bea’ti said, sitting down too.

“As the name states it is a dust based substance capable of causing hallucinations, aggression and nightmares.” Elinsys responded, she was practicing last night.

“You have experienced these effects?”

“Yes, twice. Once upon first discovery and later during the riot.”

“Melora, have you been in contact?” Bea’ti asked.

“No, I was lucky to dodge it. One other crew member was afflicted during the riot, two more in the first contact. And the crew of the Frontier.”

“Have you encountered any Dust since then?”

“Our expedition hasn't encountered any of it, the last remains were destroyed on the station after the riot.” Elinsys responded.

“That is bad news, how is one supposed to create a cure against it, if we have no samples?” Bea’ti sighed.

Elinsys knew damn well the Interior wouldn’t use it just to make the cure. “Such a shame, but a blessing in disguise surely? Easier and cheaper to just make it clear to everyone it is poisonous.”

“Sure, but drug lords will want a piece of it and if they find it. That is why we need it. We are all seasoned officers here. We all know some noble brat will get their hands on it and then their mommy will come and complain to the Interior. Imagine what the Consortium or the Alliance could do with it. So… are you sure you have no idea where we could get a sample?” Bea’ti asked, staring into their eyes.

Elinsys thought about it for a moment. The only source of the dust was Leferia or her kind in general. She claimed she was the only one, but then… Elinsys did die or at least it felt like it. Going to that place, that castle and that figure covered in robes must have been another of Leferia’s kind. If it could talk to her and ‘bring’ her back to life. Could it make more dust? Is there a cure, a vaccine, anything to slow it down or lessen the effects of the Dust?

“No, I understand that your promotion depends on this, but there is none of it left with us. If you wish I could write a good review for you, if you leave Kar alone.” Melora said, looking at her sister-in-law.

“Trying to bribe an Interior agent is not wise, sister.” Bea’ti said those words with such contempt.

“It is not a bribe, just some good old fashioned nepotism.” Melora answered.

Bea’ti pondered it for a second. “Thank you for your time, now leave. I have a murder to solve. Alone.” She gestured to the door. “Out.” She stood up and walked them out, pushing Melora slightly out of the door.

Melora and Elinsys walked down the hallway and then stopped. “So Elinsys, what do we do now?”

“There is a murderer on the station, I suspect Mrek or Keresa did this. Maybe even both.” Elinsys responded to Melora.

“But why? If it is a message it is unclear. Stay away? This only makes them bigger target. Threatening an Interior agent is not smart, it will only bring more here to help Bea’ti catch them. If she does it she would get respect, that promotion she wants so much would be hers.” Melora said.

“How… if you had to describe Bea’ti… would you say she is ruthless?” Elinsys asked, trying to not upset Melora.

“Elinsys!” Melora shouted and looked around. “She wouldn’t do that.”

“I never said she would, you said it.”

“You were insinuating it and quite badly if I can add. Use words with a double meaning. No, I doubt she would do this.” Melora responded.

“Doubt or are you one hundred percent certain? She has manipulated you into fighting with Kar.”

“Yes, but that is because she is in love with Kar, murder is too far, even for her.”

“I need a number.” Elinsys responded coldy.

Melora looked back at Bea’ti’s new office door. “Ninety nine percent. One always has to consider all the angles. Now we need to find Kar, I am getting really worried.”

“He is supposed to come here, isn’t he? We could wait here, find out what we can about the murder?” Elinsys said.

“I suppose we can. Fine. Where do we start?” Melora asked.

“I think with the Admiral.” Elinsys gestured to Melora to turn around. Behind her, down the hall was the Admiral, here to see what happened on her station. “If we ask her, tell her this is about the Dust and Mrek, she could make Bea’ti work with us. Then we can hunt them down.”

“Smart. I will go and ask her, you deal with Nilni.” Melora said, pointing behind Elinsys.

Elinsys turned around and there was Nilni and Leferia walking towards her. “Yeah, go Melora. We will wait for you.”

Melora walked to the Admiral and Elinsys walked to intercept Nilni and Leferia.

“There she is! Elinsys!” Leferia shouted. Nilni continued to rush down the hall, her face worried. Leferia shared her expression too.

“What is it Nilni?” Elinsys asked, trying to ignore Leferia.

“There has been a murder.” Nilni answered.

“And we want to know who is dead. It isn’t Kar? Please don’t be Kar.” Leferia said, looking up at the ceiling.

“It is a Shil’vati. Sady the body is mangled so we are waiting on the blood test.” Elinsys said to Nilni.

“What can the clothing tell you?” Nilni asked.

“It doesn’t have any clothing, it was mauled to bits.” Leferia said, her tone becoming less and less cheerful.

“How do you know that?” Elinsys asked.

“I can see what you see. To be more precise, if I focus I can see what you both see. I wasn’t doing that, me and Nilni were having a nice chat and I didn’t want you to disturb us. So I am looking back at what happened now.” Leferia said, a slight smile on her lips, but quickly it was gone.

“That is great, so any ideas?” Elinsys asked, agitated by Leferia.

“I know that symbol.” Leferia said, coldly.

“What symbol?” Nilni asked.

“The one beneath the body.“ Elinsys looked at the floor, trying to hide her surprise. “Where do you know it from?”

“It is a symbol of an old enemy. The one who killed me, trapped me in my dust form.” Leferia was looking more and more ditrubed.

“One of your kind?”

“Yes.”

Elinsys was not enjoying this day, the bad news just kept on piling up. “So Mrek and Keresa can see this being?”

“I don’t know. Maybe?”

“Just great, what can it do?”

“I don’t know.”

Elinsys wanted to punch Leferia, the one subject she should know by the hearth and she couldn’t give her any information.

“Do you at least know its name?”

“No. Well, not one you can understand. One that something something it was, but it probably changed after it betrayed me. I just call it the asshole.”

“Do you know at least what it is planning?”

“Same thing as me? Meet a host, get together and then… do whatever it originally wanted to.”

“So what did you originally want to do?”

“Get revenge on the asshole.” Leferia responded.

“Great, how could you do that?” Elinsys asked.

“It could, I suppose take full control over its host and basically get a new flesh. At first it would be normal looking, but with time it would get bigger.”

“Bigger?” Nilni asked.

“Extra limbs, extra height, tentacles or claws. Depends on what it wants, but the body would shift around. It could eat other corpses to grow quicker. To gather more mass.”

“Can it pretend to be normal, even after eating someone?” Elinsys asked, a puzzle being slowly completed in her mind.

Leferia stopped, piecing together the same pieces as Elinsys. “For some time, yes. Not long, but it could happen.”

“I suspect whoever did our victim in, is possessed or controlled or influenced by this enemy of yours.”

“Yes, that is most logical.” Leferia nodded.

“You two should work together more often, you solved this one pretty quick.” Nilni smiled.

Leferia looked at her and smiled back. “Thank you Nilni.”

“We need a list of suspects, and a way to test them.”

“Why don’t you weigh them? if they have extra mass, it should show.” Nilni said.

“That is… actually a good idea. It might work, depends on how much mass it has gathered. If it is early in the process it might not work, but if it has gathered enough mass. It should show.”

“One whole person sounds like something we should be able to pick up, that is of course if we can find Mrek or Keresa. After we find them, we lock them up and weigh them. How do we get rid of the thing?”

“Burn the flesh. Render it into ash.” Leferia answered.

“So we would have to kill Keresa or Mrek? No other way?” Elinsys asked, she wanted them to be punished before the law, burning them alive isn’t lawful.

“No, they are no longer Mrek and Keresa. They are puppets, corpses, playthings for it.” Leferia answered.

“I suppose that makes it a bit… easier?” Nilni asked, not quite sure in her words.

“No, but it will have to do. We must make sure before we do something drastic. I would prefer if there was some other way than just fire.” Elinsys said, still not believing Leferia a hundred percent.

“Melora is coming our way, best we stop for now.” Leferia said.

She was telling the truth, Melora was coming towards them, smiling. “I got us the job. We are the consultants for the Interior investigation on the station. We are to follow Bea’ti around and ‘assist’ her. Nilni nice to see you again, here for the interrogation? We will be watching over that too.”

“Great news. Oh look, here she comes. The favorite sister-in-law in the universe.” Elinsys said.

The party turned to face Bea’ti as she approached. “What the fuck did you do!?” She shouted.

“We are helping you.” Melora said, a smile on her face.

“Helping!? You are interfering in an Interior investigation!”

“And you are interfering in my marriage. Now we are square.”

“Are you so childish? Such a brat?”

“You started it. Going after my husband.”

“You stole him under me.”

“Shouldn’t we focus on the investigation, your petty squabbles can be dealt with later.” Nilni said.

“How dare you?” Bea’ti asked. “Who even are you?”

“Unimportant, I would be more worried about who our victim is. Like professionals, not children fighting over boys.”

“You are correct, so who is the victim? Do you know? Do you have any leads? Have you done anything but lust after Kar?” Elinsys asked.

Bea’ti was furious, she was ready to slap Elinsys, but a cough behind her stopped her. “What is it?” She asked.

“Blood test results. I know who the victim is.” The morgue overseer was standing behind her.

“Who is it?” Nilni asked.

“Doctor Mrek.”