Videotape Killed the Radio Star (Short Story)

Kyu stood in the bedroom doorway and looked down at the scene before him. There was blood everywhere. Kyu had seen his fair share of bloodshed, but this was different- a dishonourable killing by a cowardly killer, performed just as Kyu had walked in to check on his guest. Kyu's scales dripped with blood, and his mind dripped with cunning- he would discover who did this, before they landed.

The poor tiger’s body lay in a large pool of blood, and was in a position that would scream shock and awe at the impending doom- if, of course, the head wasn't spread all over the guest's chambers. His client- the widely renowned radio star DJ Veldi- was certainly dead. Who would do this, and why? He had no idea. The ship was filled with the elite, upper echelons of society- a gated community of the galaxy’s richest and prestigious families, as well as their staff. Not the kinds of people to go around casually murdering people.

Kyu had thought the job would be easy. A simple transfer from planet back to home, after the tourist vehicle that had taken them there had broken down. Kyu and his crew were in the local neighbourhood, and the opportunity to work with- and potentially gain favour with- the wealthiest people Kyu might ever meet was too great an opportunity to pass up. But with Symbolica- the name of the station chosen, to reflect their symbolic status in life- already in view on the sensors, Kyu only had a few hours or so to figure this out.

Kyu surveyed the room. The killer had set the murder up to happen remotely, so everyone on board all had an alibi- just his luck that he would walk in as it was taking place. The killer could be anyone, including his crew- Kyu tried to push the thought out of his mind. He had hand-selected all of them, and trusted them greatly- surely it wouldn't be any of them? On board his own ship? That would definitely be a cruel impression to leave the guests with. Maybe they were trying to ruin the trust he had worked so hard to cultivate?

In the bedroom, Kyu surveyed his surroundings. There were several clues. One, there were scraps of a note in the waste bin under the desk- which had partially been burned by an attempt to hide the evidence. Picking up the scraps, Kyu placed the pieces in his pocket, and made a mental note to repiece them later once he’d cleaned up a bit. Continuing the search, Kyu came across a Coffee cup half-filled with coffee- why anyone would drink a caffeinated beverage at this time of night Kyu didn’t know. Still, it may contain a clue. Kyu picked up the mug, and was revolted by the smell.

There was an obnoxious, musty whiff emanating from the liquid in the mug, with hints of violet and chocolate. Despite Kyu’s relatively weak sense of smell, the odour was overpowering- quite different and distinguishable from coffee, even if unrecognisable. Kyu staggered back slightly; the smell had caught him off guard, and was starting to make him feel a little light-headed. Kyu immediately put the mug down, making sure not to spill any- after all, while a Space Dragon’s biology is different to most, they were still susceptible to many things- and there was no telling what this mysterious liquid could be. It was quite clear, however, that it wasn’t what it was meant to be.

Kyu continued the search. Looking around, there was a note on the pillow of the bed. Kyu read it from afar, as to not contaminate the crime scene, nor put his own life at risk once more. The note was plain and simple: “LISTEN”. Next to the note was a tape box, used for storing ancient magical tapes- the tape itself was missing. Kyu walked over to Veldi's body and hovered over it like a bee inspecting a flower. The tape was in his personal player and had just finished playing. This is how he had died. Someone aboard clearly knew what they were doing, and clearly had a deceptive and highly dangerous motivation for doing so.

"What in The Valiant happened here!?" Pyrli, a brilliant yet maverick scientist and Kyu's newest hire, stood in the doorway and retched at the sight. Kyu was surprised by the sudden and unexpected interruption. "Valentin said I could find you-" He paused to reorient himself, choking back his physical reactions to the scene. "-find you over here, but I didn't expect-" Another pause. Kyu, still crouched over the body, turned to the newbie with a fierce determination. "Yes, me either. Be a dear and head back to the lab. Find out what's in that coffee cup? I think it's poisoned. I'll be along shortly." The Jade-haired Otter swiftly yet skittishly pulled out a latex glove and pulled it onto his right paw. He hurriedly picked up the cup, being careful to not spill the entirety of its contents, and held it out at arm’s length. “Right, thanks Boss. I’ll see you soon.” With that, Pyrli all but ran from the room.

Kyu thought about his next move. The chemical analysis would take some precious time, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t analyse the contents of the tape to the best of his ability while he waited- after all, time was running short. Picking up the tape, he thought better than to listen to it himself. Kyu was known for making rash decisions in times of crisis, but he wasn’t an idiot. Locking the door to the bedroom to prevent any more unwanted intrusions, Kyu headed for the en suite- he’d need to get cleaned up properly before heading to the science bay, as walking through the extravagant party going on just down the hall whilst having one’s scales covered in a thick, blood-red liquid isn’t the best thing to do when trying to maintain an air of professionalism and etiquette.

Once Kyu had freshened up, he left the bedroom, relocking it once he had left. Crossing over the balcony of the ballroom below, the party was still in full swing- Kyu wanted to avoid suspicion as much as physically possible. The less people knew about the current situation, the better- Kyu was not in the mood to cause a scene and ruin a party he was enjoying so much until the events of half an hour ago. Valentin was doing a good job keeping the guests entertained- he had just served dinner, a fine selection of food that Kyu had pilfered from the tour ship hours earlier- and was now encouraging general chatter and parlour games for everyone. Rushing down the staircase behind the hall, Kyu made his way towards the crossing point to the main body of the ship, being careful to not be spotted by the guests. Artemis was standing guard, vigilant as ever in case anyone tried to slip onto the main bridge, and Kyu nodded in acknowledgement of her hard work as he passed through the chamberlock.

Heading to the science lab through the main bridge, Nerva spoke up at Kyu’s intrusion. “Sir, you told me to keep you on task for hosting duties. I’m able to pilot on my own, and while navigating this asteroid field is stressful it’s not the worst-” Kyu cut her off as he pushed past her, lightly phasing through her form. “Sorry, Nerva, no can do- we’ve got a situation. There’s been a Murder- I thought Pyrli would have mentioned…” Nerva seemed almost disappointed at the fact. “I’d hoped for a single mission without incident, but… you can’t always get what you want, right?” Kyu stopped to give her a small hug, and she smiled at the reassurance before turning back to the console. “Just focus on getting us safely to Symbolica- let me and Pyrli focus on catching whoever did this. You’re doing a great job!” With that, Kyu passed into the Science bay.

Pyrli started to speak as Kyu entered, looking up from a spectrograph. “Sir! Good news! Based on the peaks in this IR Spectrum, there’s definitely an alcohol group vicinal to a ketone, there’s at least two double bonds, and I also ran an NMR and found-” Kyu cut the eager scientist off. “Pyrli. Spare me the Chemistry Lecture. What’ve you found?” Pyrli continued. “Well, based on the NMR data, I was able to piece together a structure, and-” Kyu crossed his arms and sighed. “Pyrli. The Results. Quickly. Is the cup poisoned?” Pyrli furrowed his brow and sighed. “Plurimisqua Luciferium, also known as ‘Lucifer’s Grasp’. Endemic across many planets, most notably within the Herenis system. Interestingly, it’s recently been reclassified from the genus Multiqualia, though that’s tenuous at best and I really disagree with-”

Kyu coughed lightly under his breath. “The Herenis System. Right where we’re heading, Symbolica being on the outskirts of it and all that. You’re kidding me.” Pyrli stopped for a minute. “Well, it does grow elsewhere. But mostly around Herenis, yeah…” Kyu’s mind started to go into overdrive. “And it’s poisonous? Would definitely kill someone in the quantity it was in?” Kyu had forgotten all about the tape that had actually killed the poor DJ. “I guess, yeah… Lucifer’s Grasp has a lot of uses, but it does contain highly toxic alkaloids that could definitely cause a lot of interesting-” Kyu waved his scientist’s words away. “Right then. This was murder, even if not in the way intended.”

Kyu marched over to a specific piece of apparatus he had constructed a while ago, a large, heavy-set box in the wall, sort of like a microwave, containing a tape player and several sensors of all different types. “Pyr, let me show you how this works. I found a tape on the body, and I’m wondering if it contains any useful information.” He pulled open the box, placed the tape inside, and closed the box. He pressed a few buttons on the display, and a small robotic arm flicked out of the wall, and pressed play. “Now we wait for the analysis to complete, shouldn’t be too-” A sultry, upper-class female voice cut him off as the tape played through the speaker.

“Good evening, Valdi. Or, should I call you Hakani, or Misty Witness, or any of your other so-called names? Who are you, really? It doesn’t matter, of course. I know what you’ve done, and that’s all that matters. All those people on Symbolica who relied on the steady income of Palitor, all those poor children who now won’t get what they deserve, all those wasted lives, wandering the deserts of Roavis without the stability of Kindari Mining Corp. for a place to live, work, and serve their betters at… you vile piece of work. You’ve ruined our way of living. And for what? The Greater Good? It makes one’s head explode to just think about all those people on Symbolica that now have to-”

Kyu was pulled forcibly into deep thought, unable to even hear the rest of the tape. One phrase had caught his attention, and though he found it almost impossible, he was shocked to think of the consequences. Had this poor Tiger been killed by somehow embedding a secret spell onto a tape? No, that couldn’t be right. The art of writing magic onto these things was long lost. What had happened? The realisation hit Kyu like a truck. The killer just wanted to leave him a message. She didn’t realise that the tape was magical- she had intended to kill him far more surreptitiously than this, but had chosen this specific method to convey her intents, leaving an accidental but deadly trap for the poor Tiger.

“...You pathetic piece of trash. I hope you burn in hell, Valdi.” The tape cut off, and both Kyu and Pyrli stood there for a moment in stunned silence. They had not expected such a torrent of verbal abuse from the tape, let alone damning evidence of the killer’s motives. Kyu stumbled back slightly, before turning and running towards the door. “Pyrli! Make a recording of that tape. We’ll need it for evidence. Bring it to the ballroom when you’ve finished. I need to go infiltrate a party...” Kyu had recognised the voice on the tape. He couldn’t place it, but he’d definitely overheard it whilst crossing the balcony- the killer was still on board. “Oh, and by the way- good work.” Kyu winked at the Jade Otter and ran out of the lab.

Kyu paused for a moment before entering the hall. He needed to be tactful- not cause a scene until necessary. He had brought along Artemis as backup, just in case things kicked off, and readied himself for a potential fight. Opening the door, the ball was in full swing- the guests were all dancing around, a flurry of movement and colour, all whilst Valentin and a few of the guests played a dainty tune on various string instruments that Kyu owned. There was no easy way to infiltrate- Kyu and Artemis would just have to begin dancing, and hope to change partners until one of them matched the culprit. It was a ridiculous plan, but today had already been weird enough- Kyu had long since stopped caring about just how ridiculous he felt.

Kyu and Artemis started dancing to the music- a dainty waltz. Luckily, Artemis knew what she was doing- she was remarkably good for a huntress who had a bow strapped to her back. Unfortunately, Kyu, while somewhat able, was a little less than graceful on the floor. The pair nearly collided with several other couples, before finally spotting their opening and swapping partners. Artemis ended up dancing with a very beautiful feline, not much taller than herself- meanwhile, Kyu had ended up with her partner, a large bull. After being dipped at least twice by his new partner, and spun more times than he’d care to count, Kyu managed to swap partners again. The hall had erupted into a soft chatter about the new pair- how scandalous to invade a private dance such as this one, even if Kyu was the owner of the very ship they were dancing onboard!

A few more swaps later, Kyu had learned much about many of the colourful characters on board, but had not located his mark. Suddenly, he was pulled into another swap, and ended up back with Artemis, who waltzed the pair across the floor gracefully towards a particular pair- a male Lion, clearly dressed up with exquisite and expensive attire, and his wife, a lioness dressed in much the same style. Artemis and Kyu danced close, trying to eavesdrop on the pair, whilst remaining as stealthy as possible. Whilst they were dancing, Kyu got a good look at her- in particular, from her right ear drooped a large diamond-encrusted earring, and as she turned, Kyu noticed she was missing the one on her left ear.

The lady was talking softly to her husband as they danced, reassuring him. “Either way, my dear, we have nothing to worry about. I’m sure he’s just a little held up with business right now, but by the time we land I’m sure Valdi will have sorted out whatever it is that’s keeping him from the festivities.” Kyu recognised that voice. It was the killer. As the Male lion opened up his stance slightly, Artemis saw her chance and slipped between the pair, leaving Kyu dancing with the beautiful lioness he was hunting.

Kyu put on his best posh accent and struck up a conversation. “So, my dear, who are you? I must say, you are dressed impeccably.” The lioness was taken aback. “Why, thank you, my dear captain. I must say, you have a wonderful ship here. All of the amenities one might need for interstellar travel, but with such luxury! It must have cost a fortune. I’m Lady Eleas of Herenis, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Kyu blushed slightly at the thought that his tastes may be a little epicurean. “Lovely to meet you too, my ladyship. It’s a pleasure to welcome you and your husband on board. Now, I don’t mean to talk business during this wonderful evening, but I have a request…” Eleas’ ears perked up at the thought. “If you’re asking me if I’d be willing to purchase any of your wonderful collections, well, I have to say, I’ve been tempted. Name your price, captain.”

“I actually was wondering if you’d be so kind as to explain where I might find a contact of yours?” Kyu tightened his grip just slightly and continued. “I believe he goes by the name Hakani. Or possibly a codename, ‘Misty Witness’... or perhaps you’d be so kind as to explain how I could remove the blood stains from the walls of guest bedroom number 4...” Author’s Notes: Oh god, it’s so fucking hard to write a believable stuck-up far-right nationalist cow who thinks child slavery is ok when you’re a leftist pig like myself! Hope you enjoy this- it's been fun to write :P