A Plot Revealed

Posted on Sun Feb 20th, 2022 @ 1:40pm by Captain Ivan Petrov

Mission: S1 Episode 1: Caretaker, Part I
Location: Laundry Room
Timeline: MD 37, 0900 Hours
737 words - 1.5 OF Standard Post Measure

The laundry room was always busy as uniforms and other personal clothes were all washed there. In there, three slaves worked constantly, but easily, unlike the ones assigned to engineering. Cleaning and service was in store for these ones, but seldom any hard labor. The hand of Cassio found a new basket of clothing and started to load it into the machine. The man had an interesting few days, but soon he would be free, breathing Terran air, and building a real life for himself.

The Agonizer Booth had changed him, somehow. He was quieter now, and his previous bouts of loneliness had ended. Pain had a way of sharpening the spirit; of clarifying the facts of life. He had won, and he had the Benefactor to thank for it all. Of course, the matter of stabbing Lieutenant Anderson had been a nasty business, but somehow, all of the lies were far worse for him. He saw the opened throat of Gruber in his dreams every night, and the haunted look in his eyes as he died.

It all started half a month ago when he received a package with a note attached to it. Inside the packet was a 50,000 imperial credit transfer order; more money than he had ever seen in his entire life. Curiously, he had opened the note, and found that it gave him an encrypted file location. He hid the money and then logged into a computer terminal. The message that appeared greeted him by name and promised him 200,000 more imperial credits if he followed instructions exactly. Of course he said yes; that kind of money would be enough to buy his freedom and to live comfortably as a free man.

It hadn't been hard to get Gruber to hit him; the man was a short fuse and a sadist on top of it. After he'd managed to get called to the Overseer's Cabin, he'd only had to share a few choice words with the man before he received a severe beating. The perfect cover, he now realized, for the lies he would have to tell. He also managed to get a hold of Gruber's dagger, which he used the next day to do some serious harm to Lieutenant Anderson. He had whispered the terrible words into his ear: "Lieutenant Marshall says hello."

The Benefactor hadn't let him in on the scheme, and he had no idea why he was doing any of this at the time, but now it almost made sense to him. He could see the pieces falling into place. He obediently wiped the blood off of the knife and dropped it into a pre-placed transporter receptacle, and the Benefactor took care of the rest. Thinking he was done, he went to look for his money, but instead he had received another message. It told him he would be arrested and tortured, but that he would survive and receive his money if he continued to follow instructions. It was then he was given the set up: Gruber had been enraged by the treatment Lieutenant Marshall had shown him, he had beaten Cassio and threatened to kill him unless he helped him with a frame job against Marshall.

Cassio now understood that Johnathan Anderson and Lieutenant Marshall had only been collateral damage, though he didn't understand why the Benefactor would set his targets on Gruber. His heart pounding, he accepted the task, realizing he was to be arrested no matter what, and the choice between revealing himself to be an accomplice in a crime or a victim was a no-brainer. Commander Cain's interrogation had been harsh, but in the end, Cassio had sang like a bird and Gruber had been arrested with implicating evidence planted, including the dagger. Someone was pulling the strings from the shadows, and he had been their willing accomplice. Guber's denials were taken as lies and he was murdered unjustly by a man he had done no harm to: Lieutenant Anderson. Cassio had been set free, just like the Benefactor had said.

Now, with 250,000 imperial credits in his account, his time of service would be finished. All he had to do was wait until this mission was over and pay for his freedom. Until then, he intended to keep his head low and to hope that the man the Captain had appointed Acting Overseer, his own son, Lieutenant Andrei Petrov, wouldn't ask too many questions until then.