"Rather talking to some corporate idiot, a plant manager or foreman is likely to have a much better sense of what the situation is." Victor began as he strolled through the expansive main lobby. "We start by asking about the specific weapon made for their android and where it went."
Pushing his way through another set of automatic doors on the opposite end, the group of engineers and scientists appeared in the halls as they all seemed to walk and run to different department wings. The main core of the facility.
With the lobby empty, they figured now was a good a time as any, to begin their research in hopes of tracking down the next lead.
"Alright, Julie, do your thing and go hassle some of the researchers and I'll shake down the engineers." He flicked his hand, signaling her to get to work.
Julia strolled past the nearby lounge and peeked at several people, young and old alike, wearing the lab coats typical of advanced engineering staff.
As she went on, Victor searched for an engineer or assistant in charge of maintenance or technical troubleshooting.
After a few moments of shadowing the researchers as they went to their workspaces, he managed to find one or two that at least seemed a bit like higher ups, who did paperwork in between working with the machines.
Approaching the man in charge of a whole team of people, he greeted with a curt smile.
"Sir? Do you have a moment to talk?" He asked as the elder gentleman turned around from his desk with a coffee in hand.
"Do I know you?" The elder man questioned.
"No, you do need to." Victor held up his badge once more for this encounter.
"Detective?" The man's expression shifted to one of distress, "As in Imperial police? God damn it not this again..." His face instantly grew grim as he pulled up a small list on the screen.
"Just cooperate and you won't be put in front of an Inquisitor. There's no need to escalate this into an interrogation." Victor replied.
"What the hell are you talking about? All these? That's a result from our standard test." The engineer seemed to think his documents from the standard android performance tests were of no interest to the Investigator at all.
"Just stop what your doing and don't touch the computer. Unless it's required to answer a question." Victor leaned in, pressing his hand on the terminal keypad to stop him from writing, as he carefully asked for the proper sequence of words to continue the conversation.
The man shook his head, sitting back down in his chair, hoping not to anger a police investigator too much for a case he felt nothing with.
"You know full well to answer all Imperial officer inquiries truthfully." He paused after allowing the man to gather his bearings, and leaned back as he prepared to formulate the list of questions.
Once he was satisfied the engineer was prepared to answer, he reviewed the specifics then cast a cold stare, "A weapon with the serial number VM071544:T2 was made in this facility, yes or no?" He started, wanting to get it on the record properly.
"That... that's a complicated question. As it depends on the range of other variables you include, however in general, yes the component was designed with Tomech."
"Don't complicate the answer. Were the parts manufactured and the final assembly completed here?" Victor corrected.
The man sat in silence as he thought back to the last year.
"Yes."
"And it was made in line with specifications that related to privately made android, yes or no?" Victor waited, giving him a chance to review before going forward.
"When you say private made android do you mean not those produced by the Empire for use by their military or public bodies?" The man thought hard, leaning back into his chair, studying the Inspector.
"You know exactly what I mean if you created the weapon for it. Answer the question."
"Well, yeah we did. Almost all those rifles were modeled based on client guidelines. Obviously we follow them since they hired us." The engineer gave an exasperated sigh.
"And who requested the modifications be made to the rifle in question?" He furrowed his brows as he decided to return to square one of the investigation.
The man shrugged, "Client information isn't disclosed to us, plus it's confidential. I don't have clearance."
"Do I need to remind you of the penalties for lying? As an Imperial officer I have the authority to order those soldiers outside to drag you in." Victor pointed over his shoulder at the entryway of the lab area.
"Relax, Detective. I swear we don't take on clients we know would compromise Empire interests." The man answered back, having none of the bluff as he waved off the accusation.
Victor clicked a device on his belt twice and two soldiers walked into the lab room through the side door. He nodded to them and they nodded back as they took up position nearby.
The researcher trembled as he realized it wasn't a bluff, he turned his chair slowly to face the commanding officer.
"You... you're not a detective... you're an inquisitor?! Imperial high ranks carry out Investigations now?"
"I have the power of the Imperial court, yes. Now answer the question."
He tried his best to avoid his intimidating look but Victor's fierce gaze bore through him and he let go. "Former Vice Minister Amalia VolStenthorn."
"Show me the specs for the android you made the rifle for." Victor held out his hand.
The terrified engineer, trembling, quickly retrieved the file from his computer, taking a few clicks to finish, handed him the folder.
Victor lifted it and stepped back, flipping through it until he found what he wanted. "Nova... Genesis... Project..."
The engineer gave no response, knowing well to avoid direct contact with anyone in the Imperial judicial system like him.
Flipping to the next page he quickly skimmed the details regarding the production details and other general information for the rifle.
"Last, state and make of the android." Victor sighed, taking a moment to absorb the amount of detail in the design schematic.
"XMV QX45, Serial number A114-D1984." The engineer cleared his throat as Victor closed the folder and stuck it under his arm.
"Thank you for your confirming these facts." He flicked his hand and the soldiers took their leave, but he stayed behind as he pondered a last few questions. "Just how bad are the actual capabilities of that design if the specs are so outlandish..." Victor spoke his thoughts aloud.
"I don't know how the actual android performed, she was very strict about the weapon details and insistent at every turn that testing and validation would not be done at our company." The researcher admitted.
Victor took a moment to think, wasn't this an overstep of the vice minister's authority? Considering the fact she was 12th in the order of precedence, wouldn't she not have had the funds available to privately employ engineers, not to mention the costs of developing androids. Just how did the Nova Genesis Project fly under radar so smoothly for so long?
Something was definitely wrong here, very wrong. Sourcing weapons from local manufacturers but keeping them out of the loop to a significant degree. This meant the answers he needed were within the Ministry of Defense itself rather than military-certified personnel or a military production company.
It also meant that the information Friedrich was looking for couldn't be disclosed to anyone not directly involved in the program or those outside of the various defense and inner workings of the government.
Tomech Weapons Technology provided the government and military with much-needed high-quality parts and finished products. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary here.
It wouldn't be wise to throw a knife in the dark, after all the entire thing was done with authority and oversight. Victor pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt his temples throbbing.
Regardless, his instincts told him something was going on here that didn't fit the description the engineer just gave him.
He turned his back to the man and left, planning to depart as quickly as possible. How did Friedrich even learn about the Nova Genesis Project anyway? Victor doubted that one of the seven engineering companies associated with Tomech Weapons Technology would have leaked anything confidential to the Imperial government given the severe risks.
A trip back to the office with Julia was just what he needed to vent before they were on to questioning the other weapon manufacturers. New strategy would be needed going forward.
As he made his way back to his car, Julia strolled with him; happy that he left without a confrontation. "So where to next? If they are like Tomech we should have no problem questioning the next company. From what I saw in this one, most of the companies had more or less the same information... I think the only difference was the base materials."
Victor didn't respond to his partner's analysis, instead starting the car and speeding out of the parking lot. As the main industrial block faded into the distance, he came up with a solution.
That commander who left the Empire, He's a perfect person to answer questions about the project. And to track him down he'd need to start with the acquaintances and relatives that Commander Yuren had to see if they knew a way to establish contact.
Once back at the office, Victor began browsing online to learn as much as possible about the current progress of the research facility situation and trying to establish where the government and military's effort was.
Leaning back into his office chair, he sighed and threw the pen across his desk as the last piece of valuable information available was the news clip from that morning.
What could have lead to all this? Or why did anyone even put up the front to keep the general public from learning about this and then keep going?
At this point it was likely going to take an internal leak of the project from someone who may still be in contact with Yuren.
"You actually look frustrated for once." Julia's voice disrupted his mental rumination.
"How could I not be when it suddenly turned into an internal government matter? Now who do I go to? And even if the military does know something, it's not being shared and it'll never be. They just want this covered up entirely for whatever reason they have. The power of the court is meaningless in front of ministers." Victor lamented, shaking his head as he was left with so many unknowns, the only option now was to simply wait to see if the government found something of worth at the site.
"There's one angle you can play that you haven't realized." The blonde brought up, having a devious little grin on her face as she sat on the edge of his desk, watching him rack his brain and bounce his ideas around his head.
"Yeah? Enlighten me."
"Rather asking about the project directly talk to them about the 701st and its commander. If the Nova Genesis Project was about androids the military were using then don't you think exploring related subjects may bring you somewhere closer?" Julia suggested as she finally took a piece of gum and popped it in her mouth.
"Not a bad Idea, but I can't insert myself into cases I'm not involved with. The Investigations regarding 701st are being handled by a higher circuit of the Imperial court." Victor noted.
"Didn't you mention their commander was already tracked down by others? Get a favor, something? You always find loopholes in these bureaucratic things you've spoken highly about. Why don't you pay another vist to the Prime minister or at least the Ministry of Defense's new Vice Minister?" She twirled a finger through her hair, watching Victor rise up from the office chair and look out the window.
"I was going to say that's stupid, but maybe it's not... Could get a good look into what's going on. Hmm... you're actually right, the tangled web of the situation... Amalia being missing, Yuren leaving the Empire, and the Nova Genesis Project. All connected to the Ministry of Defense." He pondered as the questions about the Nova Genesis Project swam throughout his mind.
Julia lowered herself to the desktop and crossed her legs, "the question is though, the Nova Genesis Project just what was it to where the missing ex vice-minister would be so secretive about it?"
"Obviously something related to android development, something that drove more funds to parts manufacturers than weapons manufacturing." Victor replied after a sigh, remembering Friedrich's words earlier this afternoon.
"Huh? When I spoke to researchers, the mentioned receiving huge budgets for making weapons for androids. Did the client really complain about that?"
Victor stood still for a moment, thinking to himself as he spoke, "No, he didn't complain, but he did make a comment about the resources being better off in the hands of human weapon manufacturers."
"This Friedrich seems to be rather confident in his company. Well, not that I can blame him really as Alteisen Arms is ahead of the game." Julia raised her shoulders in a 'so-so' motion.
"Well anyway, call and tell him that his case cannot be completed since the information he's looking for is related to a matter of national security and is an internal government interest." Victor returned to his seat, not wanting to spend the rest of his night chasing the dead ends, as he was now convinced nothing would come of it.
"It's 4 o'clock in the afternoon." Julia crossed her arms and fumed with discontent.
"And?" Victor rose a brow.
"Don't be a dick and make me do it at a time like this. It's an Emperor's Day when most business is done at court." She scoffed back, as she had turned off her desk terminal.
"So do it and send the report to the court secretary. If you want to be paid today do it before they close... and get off my desk already." Victor's dry reply left Julia exasperated.
The golden eyes of the blonde narrowed at her partner for turning the situation back on her, realizing his intent to distract her from the evening play time they usually had.
In a silent protest, Julia slid off Victor's desk and began getting ready to leave the office and complete her task, knowing full well that Victor often procrastinated on anything relating to paperwork.
Within two minutes of her calling up Friedrich Alteisen's office, Victor had picked up his coffee cup and turned off his terminal to get some sleep as it was clear there wouldn't be much on the Nova Genesis Project until further reports were compiled.