Dead Dagger

[K2]

The mysterious virus which the Zarethians had experienced after the death of Eric Mann had mainly been eliminated in the first few hours. However; a few cases, such as the K Empire diplomat who had entered the coma, had gone too far before the Zarethians exterminated the virus. A few Zarethians were still in comas.

And during these comas, new strands of the virus had developed in their body, and slowly began to spread. Now, without magic, they were often much worse and harder to solve, though Zarethian technology did help a lot. It hadn't been too obvious. Perhaps some scientists had noticed. Still, it was a very real threat.

And now, with the riots, these new viruses seemed to be spreading in areas where people were gathered in high frequency. Many of the rioters would be affected by these viruses. Worst case, coma or death. Best case, a common cold -- and becoming a carrier. But still, the viruses were spreading, and many weren't airborne.

As the riots continued, a broadcast began to show on hijacked Zarethian channels, showing a distorted voice over pictures of the dead and injured rioters. It read:

Rise up. Rise up. Rise up.

[Admiral Regis Hermitage]

At the immediate sight of these, the Hand's Electronic Intelligence Sub-Director immediately took non-Government channels off the air that were broadcasting this .The government channels, continuously broadcasted PSA, and mo9re importantly, Senator Hamilton's upcoming speech within a few hours to the public.

[K2]

Despite this, the viruses continued to spread, with a few deaths here and there. It would likely be unnoticeable due to the lack of airborne particles, and would be chopped up to death as a result of rioting violence. Regardless, it was truly spreading.

[Beware Ye Who Enter Here]

The virus was indeed taken care of when it first appeared. Those that went into comas were taken to the medical facilities where the virus was magically strained out of their systems and identified. Those who were lucky enough not to fall into a coma were simply cured with the sanitation systems, which purified air and illness from the local population. The virus was nothing in the way of the magical systems of the Zarethians, gathered and perfected over the course of three centuries of immune system degrading starship life.

During the riots, the government came in with ZPAA troopers, firing stun nets into the midst and using a plethora of incapacitating agents to knock out the troublemakers. Anyone who looked like they were leading was rounded up and put in a secure facility.

When the signal was hijacked, skilled Zarethian technicians were ready. They traced the signal back to its send off point and dispatched a squad of guards to check it out.

[K2]

They would find the broadcast center mainly empty, but the bizarre thing was just which broadcast center it was. It was the Galactic, Inc. broadcast center for their channel on Zarethian television. The most noticeable thing, though, would be the dead bodies. It seemed that the staff of Galactic, Inc. at the center had been killed. Maybe the one responsible for this hadn't been from Galactic, Inc.

[Beware Ye Who Enter Here]

The troops looked on at the center and closed off the building after turning off the Galactic INC terminals and calling in technical experts to look over the information.
They arrived in minutes via hovercraft and began to download and shift through the files of Galactic Inc as the guards identified the bodies and took them to the coroner, where they would await autopsy.

[K2]

The only thing suspicious would be a single file on a single terminal. If the Zarethians came across it, they would see it labeled as, "ERICMANN.OP" and it would be unreadable without the proper compiler. So, where would they come across the compiler to read the file? It would have to be read on a Galactic, Inc. computer -- a computer in the space station of the Times, most likely.

[Beware Ye Who Enter Here]

The Zarethians took all the hardware and packed it up, taking it to the headquarters for more thorough examinations. As they left, the guards barricaded the building.

[Admiral Regis Hermitage]

<<<Internal Memo.>>>
From- Zarethian Hand, Electronic Intelligence Sub-Division.
To- Planetary Defense Forces.

Commander, the Zarethian ELECINT Sub-Director requests a copy of retrieved hardware for analysis. This request was given express permission from the Director, the Honorable Admiral Regis Hermitage. Any confirmation may be sent directly to his office.

<<<end>>>