The Descent

Chapter 2 - Discovery

Denton Staxx snuck into his office and tossed his jacket on the white couch across from his desk. The door closed with a hiss behind him. He waited a few seconds, listening to see if anyone in his office heard him sneak back in. When there was no activity from the neighboring offices, he walked over to his desk.

"Maxwell, lock the door," he hissed to his artificial office assistant. "Reject all incoming calls. I'm not here." With a few quick steps, he reached the chair behind his desk.

"The Olympic Channel, please, Max." He sat down at the edge of his office chair. Mere inches away from him, the holographic 3D video feed assembled piece by piece mere inches above the desk surface, from the top down. His fingers tapped the desk while the image took shape. With a well-placed fist on the surface of the desk, the image cleared revealing two familiar commentators.

Was he too late? Had he missed the main event? He held his breath as he listened to the emerging conversation. To his relief, the commentators were in the middle of an animated discussion about which team was more likely to have an advantage this year. A smile spread across his face. It was the pre-race show. The race hadn't started yet.

He retrieved the wrapped sandwich he had left in his desk drawer earlier in the day. With a deep sigh, he leaned back in his chair, propped his feet up on the corner of his desk and took a big bite. He took a swig from a bottle of spring water imported from Earth and gritted his teeth as he swallowed the ice-cold water. A grin spread across his face while he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Refreshing and shocking, just the way he remembered it.

As the broadcasters switched gears from team analysis to celebrity interviews, he heard a familiar chirp in his ear. With his eyes glued to the discussion in front of him, he dismissed the notification from his comms implant with a tap to the area just behind his ear. Although the chirp meant a new case had been assigned to him, it could wait. No-one knew he was back in the office yet. That gave him time to focus on the Descent.

After the customary irrelevant commentary by the visiting VIP's, the broadcast shifted focus to an in-depth analysis of each Descent pod and their respective pilot. How were they different compared to prior years? Would one team have an advantage over another as they descended through the atmosphere? Had new regulations destroyed the sport in favor of safety? Who would find the inevitable loopholes in the regs and take advantage of them? Would the pilots from Earth, taking part for the first time, even stand a chance? The commentators seemed the cherish the idea of beating the visiting athletes with their home-field advantage.

A double-chirp interrupted a deep dive into the role of thermal shields and terminal velocity. Denton groaned, rolled his eyes and straightened up in his chair.

"Are you serious?" he muttered and shook his head in disgust. He took another drink of water and acknowledge the notification. The race would have to wait. The double-chirp meant his case was now a high priority. Drop everything else.

With a flick of a finger, he pushed the broadcast over to the side of his desk.

"Record the broadcast, Max," he said with resignation. So much for being prepared.

He collected the papers about the Descent strewn across his desk and shoved them into a drawer. Moments later, the case file hovered in front of him. Flicking through the folders, he skimmed through documents full of technical jargon, blueprints of circuit boards and 3D models of components. There was also an executable file.

Denton shook his head with frustration. Reading the case files often gave him an idea of the complexity of the case. An easy read often meant it was easier to wrap your head around the details of the case and solve it. This one was almost all gibberish.