The Forbidden Army

  “Do they not know he is helping us?”

  “From what we have discerned in the past, Quigley is not being monitored by the SIS. That could have changed in light of the recent assassination of the Vegan President, of course.”

  Zurra nodded. “Thank you, ambassador. What will be the content of this meeting?”

  “If you think Kamaan Dakkal is on Terra, Quigley is the one human who may know how to hunt him down. LAPD has a thorough database of low-rate criminals, while SIS generally only focuses on serious offenders and major security threats.”

  “These humans have such strange names for their security services.”

  “That is beside the point. You had best be going. Quigley is not a patient contact.”

  There was a chime on the monorail that snapped Zurra back to the present. He had reached his stop, so he squeezed his way out of the cramped car onto the transit platform immediately outside.

  At first glance, the Los Angeles transit system’s infrastructure was considerably more up to date than that of the Krokandir – the station was small but well kept, and there were few loiterers or vagrants. Zurra moved quickly down a crowded stairway to the street level.

  The streets of Los Angeles’ central district were packed, swarming with people from one side to the next. The floating vehicles tried to make their way through the throng of people, creating what must have been an abhorrent traffic gridlock. Massive video boards along buildings screamed and howled, and Zurra covered his ears from the overload of ambient, synthetic noise.

  He checked the directions in his hand, trying to figure out where to go from the transit station to reach Quigley. He decided to venture to the north and set off in that direction, his eyes fixated on the gyrating displays visually and aurally assaulting the pedestrians below.

  #

  Gresham blinked and stretched, yawning. There was a faint light streaming through the blinds on Lara’s windows. He rolled over slightly to check the time. It was almost noon.

  Christ, he thought to himself and glanced back to the other side of the bed, where Lara was curled up into a little ball, the sheets tangled in her legs and around her waist, her bare back exposed towards him.

  Gresham hauled himself out of bed and found sheets on the floor that had probably gotten thrown off the bed at some point during the night. Unable to locate his clothing, he wrapped the sheets around his waist and proceeded into Lara’s living room.

  Need to find something to eat, he thought to himself and managed to secure a bagel from her kitchen. Her AI had yet to turn on that morning and hadn’t automatically provided Gresham with sustenance, requiring him to physically retrieve it from the refrigerator.

  He sat down on one of the couches and his eye landed on a stack of files next to the table’s flip-out screen. He activated the screen out of curiosity, surprised to find that it was unlocked.

  Interesting…

  Gresham noticed several tabs along the bottom of her screen, most of them files from the Lugrash investigation. However, he spotted a personnel file in the far corner of the screen and enhanced it.

  ALLIED PERSONNEL SERVICE

  CLEARANCE: 981174-4337

  DOSSIER REQUESTED:

  Maj. Gresham, John Stephen

  JLOC-MID, Section-IV (Foreign Relations)

  DOB: 11/24/04 (aged 37)

  Race: C

  Origin: Trinity Park, Trinity Province, Solaris

  Current Residence: Topanga, California, USA, Terra

  Marital Status: Single (Div)

  SERVICE HISTORY

  Active Service, Allied Marine Corps

  6/18/23 – First Enlistment

  11/6/23 – Promoted to Corporal

  5/9/24 – Promoted to Staff Sergeant

  3/23/25 – Honorable Discharge

  4/15/30 – Application/Admittance to MID, Section-IV

  4/20/30 – Promoted to Lieutenant

  6/3/31 – Admission to MID Central Staff, Transfer to Terra

  11/8/32 – Promoted to Captain

  9/6/37 – Promoted to Major

  9/8/37 – Assumption of Basic Duties of JLOC

  APPRAISAL OF SERVICE

  Linguistics: Fluent Krokam (Kr); Partial Brili (Bi)

  Analyses: Expertise in Chair Nation (LOPJSC-CN) relations

  Most Recent Biannual Evaluation:

  6/22/42 – 93(100)

  Evaluation determines that subject [Gresham, John Stephen] is fit for duty and produces excellent work as desired and fulfills his duties for JLOC, Section-IV.

  END PERSONNEL FILE FOR SUBJECT [Gresham, John Stephen]

  Gresham rubbed his eyes, trying to figure out what Lara had been doing with his personnel file – or how she had retrieved it, for that matter. As JLOC his personnel file was under relatively high clearance.

  He thought about what had been confusing him the day prior and opened the screen’s query to type in:

  PACIFIC CAPITAL

  In return, the screen displayed a number of results, including an official-looking page that Gresham selected.

  Welcome to Pacific Capital!

  We are a human-owned investment bank proud of our seventy years of service in the Human Alliance, Briling Dominion, Vegan Union, Princeship of the Gardell, and a number of sovereign, unaligned systems.

  PacCap offers generous interest rates at a number of satellite banks owned by our company on over 83 worlds. PacCap also offers portfolio management for select clients, business advice and financial auditing for corporate accounts.

  Our company enjoys a healthy working relationship with a number of major galactic companies, and our multistellar attitude is inclusive towards all species, everywhere.

  Your financial future is in good hands… with Pacific Capital.

  Gresham studied the informational page more thoroughly. There were a number of links to their satellite banks and their investment opportunities seemed solid. He looked up the board of directors and found no familiar or relevant names. They were all stodgy old men and women from Mars. He scrolled down to a recent news article concerning PacCap.

  7/9/42

  Allied News Service

  PIONEER CITY (ANS) – Jim Bernal, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Martian investment bank Pacific Capital, today announced that his company will disassociate itself from the ongoing negotiations involving the purchase and division of assets of Tyson Incorporated, a major Diocletian-based defense contractor, by its competitors Markstone and Hessian Engineering.

  Bernal explains in his statement this morning that while Hessian is one of Pacific Capital’s largest clients, he finds it unhealthy in the current political climate to be brokering such a large and consequential transaction for Hessian, due mainly to allegations of illegal gun trafficking and funding organizations classified by the Commission as terrorist groups by the defense conglomerate.

  Pacific Capital itself is accused by the Department of Justice of facilitating money laundering through many of its subsidiaries, including LMS Holdings on Piskka, whose assets were seized last month by the Krokator Star Empire, and Black Tiger Financial Group, a bank through which government investigators have claimed Hessian Engineering accepted gun-money from notorious silveld warlord Svidenth Harala. The company has denied all allegations and has refused to voluntarily testify, and Special Prosecutor for the Alliance Melanie West has threatened to issue subpoenas for Bernal and other high-ranking Pacific Capital officials.

  Gresham clicked on a link to Hessian and the ANS ticker selected a new story for him to read, this one from two days before:

  LOS ANGELES (ANS) – Today, Commissioner Ali Sharif (ASP, Terra) denied plans for the Commission to subpoena the heads of five different private military contractors prior to the passage of what would be a landmark oversight bill on such companies.

  Sharif, regarded as a major player for the Allied Socialist Presidential nomination next year, explained, “At this time, it is more important for us to focus on changing the law so that th
ese companies can no longer profit illicitly off of violence beyond our jurisdiction.”

  The bill has earned a great deal of bipartisan support, even from senior Galactic Democrats with connections to the industry. However, after revelations last November of atrocities committed on the unaligned world of Anderon allegedly perpetrated with weapons sold to a violent warlord directly by Hessian Engineering, calls to punish the company intensified.

  Colin Hess, the CEO and majority stakeholder of Hessian, was unable to be reached for comment for this article. He has stated in previous releases that he believes the whole bill to be a politically motivated witch hunt by both parties with the election looming next September and that he has committed no crime.

  Gresham rubbed his eyes. What a mess.

  Could there be a connection, though? He drummed his fingers against his chin. Hessian Engineering was a major Martian company and Pacific Capital was a Mars-based firm with whom Lugrash had stashed a good deal of his money, and his income was based on gun-trafficking and moving his dirty money around using dubious accounting, the same crime Hessian stood accused of.

  He was about to click on another Pacific Capital link when Lara walked into the room in her bathrobe, smiling when she saw him. “Morning.”

  “Hey you,” Gresham said and slid over on the couch so she could sit. “I was just doing some research.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  He explained what he discovered, which made Lara raise an eyebrow. “It’s an interesting theory, and it makes perfect sense. Hessian Engineering owns about a third of Pacific Capital. It’s more or less the banking arm of the conglomerate.”

  “So all the banks where Lugrash stashed his money have a direct tie to Hessian Engineering. That can’t be a coincidence, considering what the company is accused of doing.”

  “I’m making eggs. You want some?”

  “Sure.”

  Lara entered her kitchen and announced, “Richmond!” The apartment’s AI hummed to life and she turned to Gresham briefly and shrugged. “It was my hometown on Manhattan. A little piece of home.”

  “Makes perfect sense.”

  Lara’s AI quickly cooked up a full meal of scrambled eggs, bacon and topped it off with two tall glasses of pomegranate juice and two hot coffees. Soon, they were both digging in and going over the mess of papers in front of them.

  “So let me make a brief conjecture here,” Gresham said and cleared his throat. “Lugrash is running stolen guns to shady characters. The money from his sales goes into Pacific Capital, where it can easily be transferred to… to whom? To Hessian, maybe?”

  “Probably. Pacific Capital can’t declare interest to the government on illegal money without coming under scrutiny. Their shareholders would never stand for a scandal like that. That’s one of the reasons they’re in such hot water right now, along with Hessian.”

  “Isn’t Hessian a private company?”

  “Colin Hess’s controlling interest is about sixty-two percent, making him the majority shareholder. I’m honestly stunned that he would let his company risk illegal activities like selling weapons to terrorists… Hess is gambling his personal fortune on what really amounts to pocket change.”

  “Do you think Lugrash was one of Hessian’s arms dealers?”

  “Maybe. The company is accused of having trafficked heavy and light weaponry for years, all over the galaxy. Lugrash seems too local, though. It’d be far too bold for Hessian to be selling inside the Alliance, let alone on Terra.”

  “Besides, I don’t think Hess would have a hand in stealing weapons. He manufactures his own for Christ’s sake!” Gresham exclaimed. “I read the Financial Magazine special on him a few weeks ago. Facilities on seven Alliance worlds, almost a million employees galaxy-wide… He’s an industrial titan.”

  “I think we’re getting distracted talking about Hess without more proof,” Lara said. “Though the deposits at PacCap do look suspicious… especially since some of Lugrah’s money was deposited with LMS Holdings and Black Tiger, the offworld slush funds specifically named in the Commission findings. I say we keep the Hessian connection in the back of our minds as a distinct possibility, but nothing more.”

  Gresham nodded. “Agreed. In the meantime, we should check to see if that search-and-seizure warrant I requested is in yet.”

  Lara nodded in agreement. “Good idea. I think it’ll answer a lot of questions.” She rose and walked over to the bedroom, untying her bathrobe. “I’m going to take a shower.”

  She let the robe drop to the floor and turned to lean against the doorframe, completely naked. “Care to join me?”

  #

  Zurra entered the Glory Road Mall, grateful to get out of the heat and into the climate-controlled shopping center. Nowhere in the Empire had he ever seen such a place – it was a marketplace, but several stories tall and filled with the same screeching video boards that seemed to pepper every square inch of Los Angeles. Massive holographic displays hurtled through the air above the heads of shoppers as a loudspeaker alternated between obnoxiously repetitive noise masquerading as music and a soothing, cooing voice suggesting various shopping destinations.

  Zurra approached a lift in the far corner of the mall and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He glanced at the other two passengers, a pair of humans eyeing him suspiciously and with clear contempt. He debated addressing them, but thought better of it and disembarked on the fourth floor of the atrium, jostled by a crowd of shoppers packing into the elevator. A store in front of him sold a variety of footwear, and Zurra had never seen so many strange things to put on ones feet. Everyone in the Empire wore simple sandals or boots.

  The store he was looking for was a busy coffee shop snuggled between a store selling multicolored video boards and what appeared to be a place to buy a variety of dried common plants and weeds. Why anyone would spend money to purchase something they could probably find in their garden or in street cracks was beyond Zurra.

  As he entered the store, a tall, dark-skinned human rose to acknowledge him and motioned for the krokator to join him at a corner table. He stuck his hand out as Zurra approached. “Dean Quigley! A pleasure, Mr. Sukkom.”

  Zurra creased his eyebrows before he understood. “Yes, I am glad to meet you,” he replied slowly, unsure what to do with the outstretched hand. He chose to ignore it and had a seat.

  The human seemed a bit upset that his greeting was refused, but shrugged it off and had a seat. “I ordered you a cup of coffee. You take it black?”

  “Coffee?”

  “It’s the hot beverage everybody in here is drinking.”

  A young waitress brought them their coffees and Zurra took a sip of his. It was a brackish, bitter substance, and he grimaced as it coursed over his two tongues.

  “Don’t like it, huh? Well, I tried.”

  “I appreciate the offer,” Zurra said and bowed his head. “I am sorry I am late. The skyrail in this city…”

  “You mean the monorail? Yeah, the public transit is a bitch. Must be especially bad for you, alien and all…”

  “So the Ambassador said you had information for me,” Zurra queried, trying to get back on subject.

  Quigley’s eyes widened and he gestured discreetly. “Hey, man, keep it down, okay? We don’t know who’s watching you. Were you followed?”

  “I do not believe so.”

  “Okay, that’s good. I don’t think I was either, but I’ve had the spooks recently. Some bad shit’s going down. Somebody blew up the President of another star nation just last week and here you see people shopping as usual. It’s stunning. You’d think they’d have reacted a little more to something of that magnitude…”

  “Yes, you should see the Empire now,” Zurra concurred. “The country is at a standstill after the Emperor was murdered.”

  “Yeah see but that’s different,” Quigley said. “You guys usually seem to give a shit about these kinds of things.” The police officer cleared his throat. “So the sukuda chair at your
embassy mentioned you’re looking into shady krokator here on Terra?”

  “Well, yes,” Zurra said. “I have reason to believe that somebody on this world, krokator or otherwise, is channeling money into the Hudda Kugrall.”

  “The what-again?”

  “The Hudda Kugrall. The Forbidden Army. A rogue sect of heretics, committed to taking down the Empire and installing their own fanatical regime. They are by far the most powerful of all the heretic groups and the most secretive. We know nothing of their leader, a notorious gangster who calls himself the Black Prod, and we only have parcels of information on their other high-ranking officers.”

  Quigley nodded. “Okay, I follow. They’re a crime group?”

  “They use common criminals for support and finances, but they have training camps, hideouts, weapons caches, and vehicles for moving around undetected. They even give their officers military ranks.”

  “Well, there are a few crime groups in and around the Zone, but I doubt that’s anything you’d be interested in looking into.”

  “Why is that?”

  “The big Zone gangs usually aren’t Cro- err, I mean krokator. Trust me bud, I deal with these shit-for-brains thugs every day. The Balgoshans, the Kringians, silvelds, the yuun… all those bastards are the really dangerous ones. For the most part, we know there’s a krokator racket or two down in the ETZ but they mostly stay out of our way. I’ve arrested a krokator once, maybe twice, in my twelve years at the ET desk. However… birds of a feather flock together, right?”

  “I do not understand.”

  Quigley clicked his tongue. “What I mean to say is that there are plenty of scum down in the Zone who would love to have the kind of muscle that this Forgotten Army or whatever has backing them up.”

  “Forbidden Army.”

  “Right.”

  “My superiors believe that the Hudda Kugrall could also have human financiers. A large company, perhaps. The name ‘Hessian Engineering’ was suggested.”

  “Hessian? Well, they’ve certainly gotten bad press lately. Maybe they’re even shadier than I thought, and the things they’re accused of is pretty shady.” Quigley pulled a card out of his pocket and slid it across the table to Zurra. “Here’s an ET card. Makes you look like a perm-res – a permanent resident – and also, you won’t be eyeballed carrying this. I’m glad you lost your officer braids and got one of those ponytails instead.”