Kidnapping on Thom

A burning electrical smell would fill the small street. While a door frame where a door used to be would have scorch marks around its edges and the door would be a few feet inside the building, well what was left of the door.
Lieutenant Thane Teesta of Naval Intelligence , would be almost ten yards away from the building, behind a police vehicle getting soaking wet in the rain of this stinky planet. His already grey BDU’s would be getting even darker and his hat would start to be getting heavy on his head. It’s not like the hat was covering much rain anyways, as the rain was almost coming in sideways and of course the rain would be hitting his babyish face. Luckily he brought gloves so his hands were warm. His right hand would be hovering over his holster on his thigh, while his left would be up over his heart holding the transmitter on his radio. His head would be cocked to the left so it was easier for him to hear any transmissions.
What he was watching, was six Union of Targather Marines storming a building each going left or right, guns raised, as they entered the building and then disappearing into dark rooms. These Marines were expected to clear this building smoothly and without casualties for the sake of life and damage. This structure, the Marines were entering, was an old run down apartment complex that was two stories high. The paint was peeling, the four windows used to be dirty, but the rain took care of that, and the trash would be piled up outside.
What was so important that six Marines from S.O.C.U.T, Special Operations Command of the Union of Targather, were breaching a building? Thane had been given a case to find a planetary governor's daughter. This planetary governor was Aliire Melhai, and she was the governor of Thom. The planet Thom was a frontier world far from the core of the galaxy, and was in a place where control of territories would change hands quite often. Thom had been through several recent wars and insurgencies and the political tension was high between the Western Regulation Group and the International Egalitarian League. The Westerners of the planet wanted to be free, but run a far conserivtive group going back to the ‘old ways’ of the planet’s traditions. While the Egalitarians lobby for a united government and joining the Union.
Then on 67th anniversary of Unity Day, the day the world governments came to togeather on Thom, Aliire Melhai’s daughter Tarea Melhai went missing. Local authorities did the initial investigation into it, but believed it led to an off world crime syndicate. With this evidence backing they requested the Union to investigate it. The Union, wanting Thom to join them, was all too eager to help which is what brought Thane into the fold.
Thane remembered the morning, pretty boring day at the Office of Naval Intelligence. He was listening to a new song released by a composer he followed at his desk and finishing a report. It was a relief when Lt Commander Baxfitt called him into his office. Thane always felt cold and empty when being called into the office. The grey hard floor, a desk, and only achievements and other plaques from the Navy were the only decorations the man had around the office.
Baxfitt himself was a stoic man, hard jawline and chin, brown eyes that Thane thought could pierce anyone’s soul. On his throat he had two scars that ran parallel to each other. He had brown buzz cut hair so close to regulation that his hair could model in the handbook. He lost his voice early on in his Navy career, and so he had a very gravelly voice almost as if someone had throat cancer. Rumor was that he was clearing a building with Marines and he stepped through a tripwire, which set off and sent two pieces of shrapnel into his throat. “At ease,” he said when Thane entered the officer and gave a salute. Baxfitt came around to the front of the desk and placed a datapad on the right of him. “Status on the movement of Tuclog?”
Thane reported, “His ship has been moving back and forth between Pachillion and Ferop II.”
“Well you’re being reassigned, here.” Baxfitt passed the datapad. Thane took a quick glance, “And Lieutenant, I expect this to be done smoothly as I should not have stress to you the importance of this case.”
“Aye sir.”
Then a loud echoing crash came from the building. Thane got nervous for a second, it was quiet. Marines throwing a flashbang, he thought. After a couple of seconds he heard nothing else.
“Ether 1-1, this is Drez actual, interrogative status over?” a Marine Sergeant, that was a few yards away from Thane, asked over a radio.
“Drez actual, Ether 1-1,” a whispering voice over radio replied, “Status Green, moving to second floor.” Thane hoped the girl Tarea would be okay. He remembered getting a statement from Governor Melhai.
“And so you believe someone bribed a member of your security detail, to sneak in and kidnap your daughter?” Thane asked.
“Yes, only four guards, I know of, were upstairs during the event.” Thane did his research before meeting her. Governor Melhai was born in a family of construction workers and she educated herself as there were no schools or other learning institutions in her village or nearby. She worked her away through local politics before becoming an ambassador for the planet and then running for governor. Her election was painstaking, the tension between the two political factions was tense. Her campaign was based around joining the Union and to unite the planet. The Westerners though expected her to cause even more divide as it seemed another insurgency was brewing.
The videos and pictures of Governor Melhai displayed a short, robust, short cut brown hair woman. While these were true, what the pictures failed to capture, was the presence that she could kick your ass and then the person’s ass next you and yet somehow though, she still did this while also portraying the loving mother the planet needed.
“Have you had any issues with your security guards before?” Thane continued.
“No, even the guards on my daughters detail are expected to be better than mine. Especially Carcuru, he’d make sure she was always where she needed to be school, clubs, events, everything.” Melhai answered.
“What clubs was she in?”
“Well she was in a lot of leadership clubs, her favorite was Future Leaders of Thom, she also was in some other academic honors clubs. Also a music club, I never knew why but she insisted on being in it.”
Thane noted after the interview that the daughter seemed like the typical politicians daughter, good grades, besides the music club. He also inspected her room and she no instruments, no music sheets, nothing.
“Drez actual this is Ether 1-1,” The whispering voice from the radio spoke, “Building cleared V.I.P was not found how copy over?”
“Solid copy, go ahead and report back outside, investigative teams are going to set up,” the Marine Sergeant ordered. Thane made his way to the building happy to get out of the downpour. Inside it was still quiet and dark, almost hollow. The only sound was the Marines coming down the stairs, their gear shuffling on their vests and belts. They all passed Thane, as he stood to the side for them to exit, besides the last one.
“Staff Sergeant Vargo sir,” he reported, “building is clear looks like though someone might have lived here about a month ago upstairs.”
“Alright good work Staff Sergeant,” Thane said. The Marine nodded and then exited the building into the beatdown of the downpour. Thane treaded carefully through the building, examining all the details of the room. Cold grey walls, dust everywhere very little furniture. A desk in the far right corner, with what looked to be a holo computer on it. He checked his left and right before moving towards it, and then pressed a button on it.
A bright blue and pink screen would appear floating in the air above the computer. The screen would have a song paused on it. Thane hit play and the music began playing through the room. It electronic beats would be the only sound in the building. Thane knew this song, it was the same song that he was listening to at his desk only two days before. This song was three days old, someone could have been very recently.
Thane drew his pistol and turned the flashlight attached to it on. He then looked around the room again. Nothing stirred besides the noise and the music. He walked heel to toe, to the hallway which had one room on each side and a stairwell at the end. Carefully he walked his boots making quit sounds on the wood floor and the beats from the music intensely playing. He flooded each room with his flashlight looking for anything to catch his eye. Then he made his way up the stairwell he pivoted facing his flightlight up to the landing. Once up top the music downstairs was building up even more intense while Thane entered a room, trying to cover as much as possible with his flashlight. He surveyed the room with his flashlight, which something reflected the light. He walked towards it picking it up. It was a small necklace that was in the shape of a building. Thane recognized this building, it was the capital building of Thom. Next where he picked up the necklace was this sorta of dusty powder. He glanced around the room again and then up. The powder was the same color of the ceiling, a type of grey tiling. Thane grabbed a broom in the corner of the room, and then tried pushed the tiling that was above where he found the necklace. He had his gun and the flashlight on pointed at the tile. The tiled shifted and then Thane jabbed at the tile sending flying into the ceiling. Which return his flashlight caught a pair of eyes shifting back away from the opening into the ceiling.
It was at this moment, the music club made sense. The crime syndicate lead was a dead end. After inspecting Tarea’s room, the Thom police force did a check of all the logs for transports heading off world, nothing came up with the girls name, but a face recognition camera caught her at one of the space ports. She was with a man. Her suspected kidnapper went under the name of Cordext Draari, at least that was what the log said, and the camera never got a good look at him. They tied the name Draari to a mining company on this planet, Weamis, which then also led further to this house owned by a Cordext Draari. The only issue was a Cordext Draari didn’t exist before the day of the kidnapping. While only days before Saukel Batlege, son of the secretary to the Western Regulation Group, was thought dead in a ship crash. Saukel also went to the same school as Tarea. Thane knew this because Tarea’s school closed for a few days before the kidnapping to mourn the death of a popular student.
“Tarea!” Thane called, “I’m with the Union, come down your mother just wants you home.” Silence, nothing happens besides the music down stairs is starting to die down.
“Saukel, I know you’re there too!”
Coughing is heard from the opening, and Thane hears a females voice in between coughs, “No. No.”
“What’s going on?” Thane holsters his pistol and drops the broom leaping up barely catching the ceiling. With all his might he pulls himself into the ceiling paneling, what he sees up there, is a young man who is passed out or dead and then Tarea still coughing with a vial next to her.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Two days after the raid Thane was back on Thom meeting with the governor and her daughter. The daughter and the boy, Saukel Batlege, were both passed out for a full day after their attempted suicide. They attempted to take a poison but it was a bad patch and didn’t go through. “Well I’m glad you got her back safe,” Governor Melhai commented.
“Yes I and the Union are too,” Thane replied, “but Tarea I think it’s time you come clean about the music club.”
Tarea looked at her mom nervously. Thane tried to give Tarea multiple times to talk to her mom about it, but she kept pushing it off. So this was his last option as Governor Melhai needed to hear the truth. “Uhmm…”, she quivered, “I’m not interested in music.”
Her mother smiled, “Well I figured that much, for a boy wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, but there’s more to it. The boy is Saukel Batlege.”
“Batlege? Is that someone related to Hy Batlege the secretary of….”
“Yes,” Tarea cuts her off,” It is and I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be a leader, I don’t want to be a politician I just want…” She begins crying and then loses it in her hands. Melhai went and begin to comfort her daughter. Thane simply got up nodded and then left the two alone. What happened next it was all out of Thane’s hands and his job was done. He would send a report to his command, archives, and to the Governor. As he made his way to his ship though he pondered how Tarea wand Saukel would turn out. In the past two days skirmishes began between militias belonging to the two political factions and there was no sign of peace at all, and with that Thane almost guaranteed that if Saukel and Tarea saw each other again it was not going to be as they wished.