Galactic Detective Shilo Zander

"Of course. On the train ride, I will cover the situation and then we will teleport to the colony, and you can begin your investigation."

Detective Shilo made his way onto the car and was thankful to see it would provide privacy. Two more Jolangus waited on board. They carried different weapons and merely nodded at him. Their faces were obscured behind a large curved plexiglass mask with large ventilators. The suits they wore would do as space suits in a jam. Another waited at the booth that JoLane stopped at.

"The colony has a breathable atmosphere, yes?" he asked.

"Of course. We believe the issue is contagious and while infection to Jolangus is rare, we are taking precautions. Your bloodwork came back as immune as we suspected. Doctor Zayflan would not have cleared you if that was the case. He is nearly certain that you have nothing to worry about."

"Nearly certain. Shouldn't I take precautions like you? A biohazard suit sounds good right about now."

"Well, if you wanted to. Let me discuss the situation and I'm sure we can delay if you decide it's needed, but Doctor Zayflan is our leading expert. And I have been informed delays in the contract will not be reimbursed." Jolane stripped down to dawn her suit. He expected modesty or worried he need shield his eyes, but her fur coat was thick from head to tail. She took no concern in the process and continued speaking, even though Shilo's cheeks burned a touch.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. He really needed to look up rome.

"So, as I was saying, the colony is infested with rats. I believe that is what you call them. About twenty inches long. Late-stage infestation has the rats grow in size doubling or even rumored to be ten times that size. Usually, we would have leveled the town by this time. All citizens have been evacuated and none are showing signs of infection. Before the evacuation was called, a few died. They are here to provide us with extra security. A foothold has been established in the colony. The rats love to eat electrical wiring, so the foot hold team will not only secure the transport pad but also provide emergency power, so teleportation back will be possible. They also have an escape pod that we can utilize as a last resort."

"All this for rats?"

"They are demonic rats. The creatures are crazed with the infection. They begin to grow in size, numbers and ferocity. This infestation has advanced the quickest. It also has caused growing concerning rumors that a rat has been spotted in the capital city on this moon."

"A level four threat. Could you be approaching a level six or seven threat of losing the entire planet?"

"We don't believe it is at that. Those selling rat traps are making a hustle with their business endeavors, stoking fear. That is all."

"Unusually large rodents. I got this." Shilo checked his weapons again and helped JoLane get her holster to rest properly over the space suit. The real challenge was how smooth the suit was and how narrow JoLane actually was. She seemed to be mostly fur and fluff. He synched the belt down and showed her how to draw and holster the weapon. The train stopped and only their car opened to allow them onto the transport pad that would take them to the moon above.

"Let's go shoot us some rats."

"Let's indeed." The two suited Jolangus went first, disappearing from the center of the pad in a flash of light. JoLane smiled at him and hopped towards the pad.

Shilo followed and gave it his best for a hop. He overdid it in the low gravity and laughed. Jolane had him smiling and bouncing. Get it together, take a few rats out, figure out why they were there in the first place, and move on.

What did he know so far? He ran through the facts as he dropped down.

The infestation grew quickly in size.

It was likely this Max Tango disease that Dr. Zayflan tested him for.

The Jolangus were mostly farmers and not interested in politics.

How does a disease get somewhere unless it's brought in?

The disease has occurred in places with no known connection.

It was brought in but not by a person. He would need to check the shipping docks. Shilo's foot touched the ground, and he disappeared in a flash of light.

He reappeared on a similar pad and in the middle of a shootout. Rats scurried with little fear and in great numbers. JoLane and the two guards looked no different from the six suited in front of him.

His companion could be any of them. Shilo un-holstered the pistol and took the head off a dog sized rat running towards him. A rat larger than that attacked one of the Jolangus in front of him. Shilo ran towards the beast, trying for a clear shot.

"JoLane!"

A blaster shot, like his, hit the gigantic rat in the spine. The creature dropped to the ground, twitching. Shilo shot the rat with another round to its chest and two more to its head. He pulled the beast from the Injured Jolangus, not JoLane as she had the other blaster and two, this Jolangus had no holster strapped to its suit. The alien was alive but badly wounded.

The dead rat at his feet had a mouth full of bloody fur. One of the remaining Jolangus called for a retreat.

Shilo added his rounds to the fury, taking seven more of the beasts down. One gripped onto his trench coat. The bite was crushing his arm, but the fibers held. Shilo flipped a switch, sending a charge of electricity into the beast. He pulled his arm free from the locked jaws and checked how hurt he was by flexing his hand.

Four flashes of light went off, and Shilo turned to face an empty teleportation pad. A blaster shot killed a rat pawing at the empty pad. The security system wouldn't let a ran escape. That was good. The blaster shot meant JoLane was still here. And Shilo hadn't completed his job. He kicked a rock towards the nearest rat and kept his eyes on the nearby huts. The Jolangus did not build impressive structures above the ground.

That's not true. The train and depot were impressive is size if simple enough in architecture. This place was clearly a town for simple farming. It felt quant if backwards and he didn't expect that from the Jolangus. Until he noted far too many of the rats leaving a small hut. Of course, the Jolangus were underground builders. He remembered that. Shilo promised to himself to study up on the various alien species better. It also meant he had no idea how many rats were around here. The things kept coming.

The beast he'd agitated was circling to strike, but Shilo held off. JoLane took her shot, killing the beast. That's what he'd been waiting for. He skirted the transport pad and jumped up onto a cylinder.

"I thought it was going to eat you."

"Sorry to have you concerned, JoLane. I lost you in the moment and figured if you shot again, I would pay better attention to the source if I knew where the target was."

"I'm glad you found me. This is the pod we can use for safety. The others will report that we lost the town, and they will level it. We can stay safe here."

"I would love to, but I haven't done my job and if you destroy the town, I may not be able to. Where are the dockyards?"

"What? Come on, this isn't worth your life."

"The shipments, where do you receive the shipments? We won't stay long."

"That way." Jolane pointed to the hut that had the large quantity of rats poured out from.

"Of course, that seems to be the source." Shilo pulled an eye patch from his pocket and a small lipstick sized container. "Keep the rats off of us and I will hurry with my drone."

"You're not authorized a drone."

"So report me. Just keep me alive to be fined." He slipped the eyepatch on and twisted the small cylinder. it split into four wings flapping. The drone wasn't more than that, but reminded Shilo of a dragonfly if the dragonfly didn't have a tail. It was quick and maneuverable. He ignored the many rounds of fire that he heard. The distraction when JoLane had pulled his pistol from his grip and started firing dual handed almost had him crash the drone into the hut door until he realized her intent and he relented. The drone circled, and he followed the swath of moving fur below back into a large underground bay. Rows of defunct teleport pads and stacked boxes showed he had found the shipping room. He swirled around and found a large mass of rats swarming over crates and crates of cheese.

JoLane pulled him into the escape pod. The drone crashed into the mob of rats, and Shilo pulled the patch from his eye. JoLane pulled the hatch closed, and they sat in the dark.

The sound of rats clawing at the escape pod finally relented. "Did you see anything?"

"I might have, but I'll need to analyze the feed. I will tell you the rats were eating a large pile of cheese."

"Cheese?"

"Yep, but JoLane, do you eat cheese?"

"Not often. Some do. I never understood the attraction."

"You're missing out. It looks like we are going to be here a while."

"Yes, until they clear out the town and rescue us."

"I might as well tell you my suspicions, but I'll need to confirm them. Your doctor may not be as innocent as he seems."

"The doctor. It could be a coincidence, but why did he call the infection Max Tango?"

"I don't know. Why does that matter?"

"It matters because the crate that the cheese was in was tracked through Kohask territory."

"Kohask, Moon Terrors?"

"Aye. you've heard of them."

"Everyone has. Werewolves. Humans renamed them upon first learning of the savage aliens."

"Kohask are not werewolves, not like our horror stories tell them. The creatures don't change and sadly silver does nothing to them."

"But the Kohask are as reclusive as we are." JoLane purred.

The first time he'd made out that noise from her, but unlike a cat's purr of delight, this unnerved him. He squeezed her hand reassuringly and then tightly as explosions leveled the surrounding town. The earth shook from the bunker busters collapsing tunnels.

JoLane said, "Will I see you again?"

"Depends. It's a big galaxy, but it has a strange way of working. If I'm right and it is the Kohask and your doctor is not so innocent, your people may hire me again. If not, well, it's a big galaxy. Hopefully, I find another job before the word gets out."

"It would be nice to see you again, Mr. Detective Shilo Zander. I thought you were very brave and generous to provide us with your assistance. And I will not report your unauthorized drone or the electrified garment you wear."

"I'd appreciate that. That drone was expensive, bad enough I lost it. Hate to get fined on top of that."