Constellation: Security Breach: Constellation, #2

By A.F. Michaels

In the near future, the Magnus family has built its fortunes on revolutionary starship technology, and the patriarch Thomas Magnus plans to escalate his power by running for president. But his arch enemy Alder Cloven has chosen this moment to launch a conspiracy to destroy the Magnus clan. 

Episode Two: As the mystery of Khanya's death deepens, Alder Cloven's plot against the Magnus' tightens. Thomas makes arrangements to protect his family, but not everyone is willing to play along. 

Constellation is an ongoing series that will be released in five episode installments of 20,000 words each.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Platypus Publishing
• Release date: Dec 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9781519902146

Book preview

Book Description:

In the near future, the Magnus family has built its fortunes on revolutionary starship technology, and the patriarch Thomas Magnus plans to escalate his power by running for president. But his arch enemy Alder Cloven has chosen this moment to launch a conspiracy to destroy the Magnus clan.

Constellation is an ongoing series that will be released in five episode installments of 20,000 words each.

This book contains strong language, violence, and adult situations. Reader discretion is advised.

1.

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AT THE Rex Dalton home, Detective Jon Sakura and his partner Detective Misty Henderson stood in the living room, watching Khanya Owusu die. They had used a law enforcement override to access UBI's cameras and pull up a video recording of the incident.

Some privacy groups still protested the UBI system's ever-present and invisible cameras, watching everything and everyone all over the world. But of course, UBI didn't work unless it could see and hear at all times to respond to voice and visual commands. Jon could see why people would be concerned, but to him it was a blessing. It virtually eliminated the need to rely on eyewitness testimony, since he could access recordings of almost everything.

On one wall of Rex's living room, they watched the scene in the same living room hours earlier. Jon slurped his coffee as he watched people dancing around Khanya. On the virtual screen, she spoke to someone on a private connection. The surface of the bar had a screen projected onto it, but with a privacy filter, no one could see or hear the person on the other side but her.

Jon nodded. We need to get a court order unlocking that call.

Yup, murmured Henderson.

On the recording, they could hear Khanya saying, But I thought it wouldn't be ready until ... okay, okay, I'm on my way. I'm leaving now.

Sophia Magnus walked up to the bar, laughing about something. She tried to talk to Khanya, but was cut off when Khanya grabbed her arm. I need to get out of here.

Sophia held up her hand. Okay, okay, let me get Nikki.

Khanya shoved her. Hurry up. It's already too late. We need to go.

Jon watched in silence as Sophia walked off into the crowds. Khanya paced at the bar for a few minutes, looking at her watch, and sipping a Manhattan. When she slammed the glass down, Sophia and Nikki showed up and a moment later, Khanya screamed and burst into a cloud of ashes.

Henderson winced as she rubbed her cheek with her fingers. Well, that supports their story.

Jon nodded. Everything on the recording matched up to what they had been told. As for Khanya, he had a theory about her, but didn't want to say anything yet.

They finished their work and headed for their hovercraft. The news media had thinned with only a handful of news drones still hovering over the mansion. Jon still kept his head down to avoid the cameras. The hovercraft unlocked automatically as he approached it, and the interior felt warm from the rising sun. Once in the hovercraft, Henderson worked on the console to set their flight path while Jon called the medical examiner.

On the windshield, a virtual screen lit up to call the precinct's morgue. A tall woman with red, curly hair appeared on the screen. He knew Doctor Emilia Rose well, having worked with her as medical examiner for many years. Rose peered through what looked like a large microscope next to a metal table. Behind her, he could see rows of trolleys with corpses on them. Some of the bodies had robots suspended over them, carefully performing dissections with slender metal arms.

She raised her eyes. Jon, you always make it more interesting around here.

Jon sipped his coffee. I try.

Henderson asked, What've we got?

Rose folded her arms. Well, the scans are still coming in, but the bots were able to find enough DNA to make a positive ID. This is Khanya Owusu, all right.

Jon set down his coffee cup in a cup holder on the dashboard. And you can also rule out any kind of explosive device.

Henderson raised her eyebrows. Why?

He pointed. The ashes are too close together. An explosion would've thrown them all over the place. It also wouldn't have affected such a small area.

He's right, Rose said, and the bots haven't found any trace of explosive chemicals. Besides that, the remains are completely incinerated. It's like she got turned into ashes instantaneously. No bomb can do that.

It also would have needed to generate an enormous amount of heat very rapidly. Even at fourteen hundred to eighteen hundred degrees Fahrenheit, it would normally take two hours to cremate a human body. The amount of heat to incinerate Khanya should have burned everyone around her, if not the whole house. But it barely singed the carpet.

Henderson raised her hand. Hey, you know what this sounds like? Spontaneous combustion. You know, when people just disappear?

Jon snorted. Next you'll say this case is about little green men. UBI, keyboard.

A keyboard etched itself onto the dashboard of the hovercraft in front of him. He began to type on it.

Henderson made a face. Dunno why you stick to that archaic system of input.

Voice commands make mistakes. Keyboards are quicker. Jon finished typing. Anyway, I'm thinking something new, something experimental. I'd like you to check for something microscopic, Rose. Something we might miss on the regular scans.

A new window appeared on the windshield with text scrolling down its length. He studied the article, but didn't say anything to the others. He had a theory, but it still sounded too crazy.

On the screen, Rose rolled her eyes. You and your conspiracy theories, Jon. All right, I'll have the blood scanned again. But I don't think we'll find anything.

Henderson touched