A7-2 Happy Couple (Patreon)

Tori just met her new next door neighbors and is somehow managing to keep the ship's dire situation to herself. But the captain has authorized her to utilize everything available to solve these cases, so now it's time to distribute the work load.

———

Tori stood at the front of a classroom, staring out at the two-dozen security officers reporting to Tipohee. She had planned to do this talk in the security station, but with officers from all three shifts attending, there wouldn’t have been room.

“So, for the next week, the name of the game is elimination,” she said into the microphone. “There’s ten thousand suspects at the moment—everyone, including yourself, your families, and all your coworkers. And we simply don’t have the luxury of time to do this investigation properly—digging into backgrounds and looking for motives. Instead, we’re looking for everyone that we can reasonably knock off the suspect list.”

Tori stared down at the lectern for a while. “I want you to read the case files over and get familiar with each of the seven crime scenes, what was poisoned in each case, and who could have had access to them. Talk to the suspects and trust your gut. I don’t know what else I can tell you or how you can be reasonably certain if one geroo could or couldn’t be who we’re looking for.

“But what I do know for sure is that we have ten thousand crew to consider, and everyone is starting in the suspect category. Even splitting the work between all of us, that means each of us have to consider the cases of hundreds of geroo.

“We need to talk to everyone. If they couldn’t have done any one of these murders, then great, put them on the innocent list. If you can’t find a compelling reason that says they’re innocent, then skip over them, leave them on the suspect list. We don’t have time to dig deep.”

Tori sighed and looked from face to face. “What I’m trying to stress here is to make the best use of your time. Everyone needs to work their full share of cases. It’ll be far better to get all the way through your share and then have time to go back and re-interview suspects that you couldn’t eliminate previously rather than leave some crew as suspects simply because you didn’t have enough time to interview them. Make sense?”

Instead of waiting for questions, Security Chief Tipohee shouted, “And if you haven’t guessed it already, this project is your life for the next week.” When some of the officers moaned, the chief snapped, “Captain’s orders! You will sleep, and you will interview suspects. You can eat while you talk to the crew. All other obligations will have to wait until after the commissioner’s next inspection.”

The chief shook his head. “We’re not exaggerating here. Working sixteen-hour days, that works out to each of us classifying someone every fifteen minutes or so. Lean heavily on friends and family to help out because none of us have the time to tuck our cubs into bed or watch them compete in a wrestling match. For the next week, you’re interviewing everyone individually. And if you’ve done all you can do with your list, then help each other out, try to eliminate some that your buddies couldn’t. Get that suspect list down as small as possible.”

When the meeting concluded, Tori waited for the officers to file out so she wouldn’t get jostled by the crowd. She headed off to interview her own suspects but spotted Holly soon after she left the classroom. “Oh, hey Holly,” she said to the lanky geroo. “Thanks for getting me all those files. I’m just getting ready to start interviewing everyone.”

“My pleasure, Tori!” he said with a wide grin. “It really wasn’t too tough. I did like you said, asked a guy from dev-ops, and he walked me through it. I’m glad it helped.”

Tori smiled up at him for a moment before continuing on her way.

“Uh, can I walk with you, Tori?”

“I don’t know,” she said, “can you? This is my top speed.”

“Oh, sure!” said Holly. “I’ll just take small steps.” And he proceeded to take a dozen tiny steps at his usual fast pace before slowing down to a walk. “Just kidding.”

Tori chuckled. Had someone else done that, she might have felt mocked, but from the administrator, it felt genuine and friendly.

Holly’s strand chimed, and he sighed as he pulled it from his shoulder. “May have spoken too soon. Sounds like I have another task to do.” But when he tapped the screen, his ears lifted in a smile. “Yes! I get to tell some geroo that in three days, they’ll become a Happy Couple. That’s the best part of my job.”

“Oh, excellent!” said Tori. “Mind if I tag along?”

“Not at all!” he said as he read from the screen. “It’s Foja and Lu’e. They live on twelve, so let’s take the wells down two.”

Tori put a paw to his arm. “And whose birth token will they be receiving?”

The administrator looked a little uncomfortable. “A … guy,” he mumbled. When she didn’t reply, he added, “Just a guy.”

“Well,” she said, “where does this guy live? You should really start there.”

Holly’s expression had drooped from excited to apprehensive but now was progressing all the way to fear. “Oh, I don’t think that’s a good idea, Tori,” he said with a firm shake of his head. “Orkloo’s still got a few days left. I don’t think he’d appreciate a visit from me.”

She smiled and squeezed his arm once more. “Of course, he will. He just doesn’t realize it yet. Where’s he live?”

With great hesitation, Holly tapped his strand again. “Thirteen, so down three. Are you certain about this?”

Tori stepped into the well, enjoying as the artificial gravity dropped to a fraction of normal. Then she took three gentle hops down to thirteen before stepping out once more. With only a little searching, the pair came to the address, and Holly knocked.

A moment passed and the door opened a crack. Tori could hear multiple voices inside, but a single eye peered out. “Who’re you?”

“I-I’m Administrator Holly,” he stammered.

The door opened wider and an angry geroo with grey fur stuck his head out. “Go away, you kerrati!” he shouted. “I still have three days left!”

“Sir! Sir! No,” said Tori as she pushed Holly away from the doorway. He didn’t resist. “It’s nothing like that. You still have all your time left.” The old geroo glared at her. His ears pulled back in discomfort when he saw her face, but he didn’t avert his eyes. “We just thought you might like to meet the Happy Couple. I’m sure that Foja and Lu’e would jump at the chance to get to know you.”

He paused, and little-by-little, his ears relaxed. He looked down.

The sounds inside the apartment quieted. “Well, I would,” said a second voice. She put her paws on his shoulders and peeked around him. “They’ll be getting your soul, hon. I’ll rest so much easier knowing that you’ll reincarnate in a happy family.” He reached up and put his paw over hers. “If that’s all right,” she said to Tori.

“Well, of course!” she said with a grin. “You’re both going to be family soon.”

With a smile, Orkloo’s mate opened the door the rest of the way. Behind them, two other couples were getting to their paws—one a mother holding a young cub to her chest—extended family visiting, trying to make the most of the time they had left with their father.

Soon, Holly led the noisy crowd up a deck, down a couple corridors, and to a bare-metal door that looked no different from all its neighbors. Tori hung back this time to let the administrator speak to the young couple.

He knocked and a young male with a tan coat answered. “Um, hello?” He looked nervously about at all the geroo gathered in the corridor.

“You must be Foja,” said the lanky male. “I’m Administrator Holly. Is Lu’e at home?”

“What’s this about?” he asked, worry clear on his ears.

“I’d like you both to meet someone,” Holly said with a grin. “It’ll take just a moment.”

Foja shouted for his mate, “Hon? There’s someone at the door for you.”

“Who?”

Before she peeked from the doorway, several of the other doors along the corridor had opened and curious ears poked out, wondering what was going on.

Lu’e had off-white fur, tinted with a shade of yellow. She was short, very round, and had ears so long that they could be antennas. Her blue eyes were opened wide with concern, and her mate held her paw tightly in both of his.

“Foja, Lu’e,” said Holly, “I’d like for you to meet Orkloo and his family.” No one moved. No one made a sound, so Holly explained. “Orkloo will have his Going Away in a few days, and he’d like for you to have his birth token.”

The Happy Couple said nothing. Their jaws hung open and their eyes went wide.

“If you still want it,” Orkloo said with a grandfatherly smile. “It’s old, but it’s treated me well.”

Lu’e finally broke from her paralysis and started bouncing in place. She practically leapt into Orkloo’s arms, and Foja looked as if he might faint.

———

Reviewer's link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1twmj0hSKO7W_WoDzs0nCw-TyKQRhJFIEV3qn0ZHE99E/edit?usp=sharing

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