By Ti’el Lochridge

As Fen Aari, last of her line, came in the white arched doorway to her house, she smiled. Across the room, in the silvery reflecting glass, her ebony skin and piercing yellow eyes looked back at her, copying the look on her face. She was pleased with what she had accomplished at work today.

For days she had struggled with the difficult tasks placed before her, expected to be done in outrageously short periods of time. Her stubborn work partner had been an obstacle, slowing her work almost to the point of failure.

But today, things were looking up. Fen hoped to have a new partner soon, and her work had become considerably easier in the past few days. For once, she felt like she was going somewhere. She had started this job to earn only what was fair to her as a member of the Aari family, but she was not getting it. But tomorrow.

Tomorrow it will be different, she told herself. If everything works out, I will finally be free.

After her usual cup of sailol, Fen relaxed and reclined on her wooden rest. Unfortunately, neither the sailol nor the rest were very good quality, as she could not afford such things with her small salary. Again she smiled, content that the future would be better.

Her long limbs stretched, flexing and relaxing, until all her muscles felt better. A long modern style jacket was then removed, revealing simple black base clothes that covered her trim, muscular form. Finally, Fen let her long black hair out of its neat braid, combing through it.

Closing her eyes, she sought sleep, but it would not come to her. Sighing, Fen stood up and went to the sustenance chamber to make herself dinner. All the while she thought about her job and the perks that were sure to appear tomorrow. Cleaning up, she decided to take her ground pod to the place that she usually worked out. As the walls of the tunnels sped by, a ping from her MCTS, or mentals communication and technology sytem, broke Fen out of her peace.

Growling, she turned the pod around and sped to her work, listening for the message that she knew would come from her boss, Orlg. That ping pattern was his, and all it could signify was another job to be done.

Report to plot 263, Agent Fen Aari, agent Plejh Trwe. Situation 1, immediately.

Fen cracked a grin. Agent Plejh Trwe, huh? That replacement happened more quickly than I expected.

Fen looked outside, where her pod had already risen to the surface. Plejh Trwe was already present. She knew why he had been called, even though he was third in command. Fen stepped softly onto the dusty maroonish-black soil that made up the parts of Leris that weren’t erupting with fire, water, or tilled by agriculturalists.

Situation 1 meant a murder, and though Fen had investigated many of these previously, she was wondering what she would find. Also, these always made her jittery. It was one of her only weaknesses in this job. Orlg came out of the house and nodded for the two agents to enter the building.

Fen wasn’t wearing her business jacket, but that was dismissed in cases that required immediate attention and took place after work hours.

As she and Plejh Trwe came upon the scene, she stifled a gasp of surprise. Not about the victim lying on the fhesstone rest, but the other, live occupant of the room. Both her and her companion glanced quickly at their boss in question. But it was not him who spoke up.

“You must be wondering why I’m here,” the ‘occupant’ said, without looking up. His short cut hair reminded her oddly of the dead man lying on the rest.

The boss looked away, waiting for the stranger to continue.

Only then did the other man look up, and Fen’s eyes widened. This was no stranger after all, it was her work partner, Duln Ohaq. Now, indeed, she was wondering why he was here. Confused she glanced at Plejh Trwe, then her boss.

“I was also called here,” he continued, “but not to investigate. To witness. The victim happens to be my twin brother.”

Fen’s mind froze for a moment, then started racing. Her detective instinct was kicking in, but with an added suspicion of her own.

She hadn’t noticed when Duln Ohaq raised his head, but now, seeing their faces side by side, she could see the resemblance. She had not known that her work partner had had a twin brother. But now she could see it. Their bodies were similar, their haircuts almost identical, and the only noticeable difference was their eye color.

Duln Ohaq’s eyes were a smooth, dark, maroon, and his brother’s were a bright, fiery scarlet. She should have seen it before.

Clearing her throat, Fen went on to the next order of business.

“Victim’s name, please?”

Since it was Orlg’s right to speak, he answered, “Relsz Ohaq. Four hours separation from Duln Ohaq, both 114 hyyuts of age.”

Fen quickly assessed evidence, skillfully using her high-tech tools to measure data. The jitters were getting to her now, and every once in a while she would make a small mistake or catch her old partner watching her do her work. Occasionally Orlg would ask him questions, and Fen would overhear the answers and record them in her MCTS notes.

By the time the investigation was over, Fen had gathered much information from her observations, but even more from what she had heard eavesdropping on her boss’ conversation.

All the evidence, if analyzed carefully, could point to the murderer, but Fen had reason to believe that someone else had been involved as well. In answer to one of Orlg’s questions, she had heard, “was riding home…didn’t come to his job that day, said he was sick….as you know, I was away….yes, very important, but only lasted a few ruvfs…I was home early, found him here…dead….”

Apparently, the story he was telling was different from the one that Orlg had told the workers in explanation of Duln Ohaq’s absence at work. During that day, Orlg had claimed that Duln Ohaq was sick, not his unknown twin brother. Now here was some evidence to point to another part of the murder that would be more easily presented.

Fen kept to herself for the remaining time, and was eventually dismissed. Plejh Trwe hadn’t been allowed to participate in the investigation, he was only to oversee that everything necessary was done.

But next time, he could very well be doing my part, Fen thought as she climbed into her pod. But if something goes wrong with this case, there may not be a next time.

Finally home, Fen filed her recordings into her MCTS thought cache and bit her lip, scared for what the future could bring.

The events of the day finally hit her fully, and she took a deep breath in.

I have killed someone. I have taken a life. But it wasn’t the right one. How was I to know that the eyes should have been maroon?

Then a ping came, with a very familiar tone. It was Duln Ohaq. As she decided to answer, the message played immediately.

I knew you wanted me. That is really why I left. But I also know currently that you are planning to blame me. If we work this out together, we could escape before they catch either of us.

Narrowing her vivid yellow eyes, Fen decided to take a risk. Concentrating, she sent a reply.

Deal.