Attack on the Person

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

1/9/95:

I slowly awoke to someone gently shaking my shoulder. I
moaned a bit, wanting to go back to sleep.

"Wake up Oriana," a soft, female voice said.

I cracked one eyelid to see Rachel standing a few feet away.
I fully opened my eyes, "Council head, what are you doing
here?"

She sat down the chair across from me, "When I heard about
what happened, I had to come."

I yawned again, looking around the waiting room of the
medical ward. Rachel and I where the only two people in the
off white room.

"Why are you so interested in Fox?"

She shrugged, "I've been interesting in him ever senses he
showed up at my office, three days after I had been told I
was appointed. He found out some how, and came by to plead
for Rathal's life."

I nodded, not really understanding what she meant, but I
didn't want to say so.

She rested her head on her paws, "So, how much do you know
about what happened?"

I sighed, she was the twentieth or so person to ask me that,
"He was complaining about a headache, then collapsed. When
the medics came he had blood over the back of his head."

"How long ago was that?"

I lifted my right paw, and pop open a cover on the metal
band there. Underneath was a watch, "about 14 hours."

The skin inside of Rachel's ears faded in colour a bit, "His
be in surgery that long?"

"As far as I know. I've been asleep for the last 4 hours,
maybe more."

She nodded, "Do they have any idea what happened?"

"Plenty actually," the doctor said, as he walked into the
waiting room. "If you two lovely ladies would come with,
he's awake and asking for you. I'll explain what happened as
we go." Then started back into the medical ward.

Rachel and I both looked at each other, then followed.

As we walked down the hall the doctor, who was human,
started to talk.

"The simplest way to say what happened is this, someone
botch an assignation attempt on him."

This caused me to gasp a bit. Rachel simply said, "Explain."

"His translator chip was rigged with some minor explosives.
Not enough to be detected, but enough to make him a
vegetable if it had worked right. Luckily, if you can say
that, the explosives where in the wrong location, and simply
blow out the piece of his skull we removed to implant the
chip."

"Then why was he under so long?" I asked, "it sounds like a
simple job to fix."

"Not really," the doctor replied, turning a corner. "The
chip it self was destroyed, not only did we have to use
microscopes to get each and every microscopic piece out of
his head, we also had to manually rebuild the attachment
point.

Rachel winced, "I see. Do you have any idea who implanted
the chip?"

The doctor nodded, "I did, but the assistant who gave me the
chip vanished the day after, and any record of her working
here has been deleted, except for the hard copies. Which are
right now under lock and key."

Rachel nodded as we turned another corner.

The doctor stopped in front of a room, "He's ok, and can
leave in the morning. He will need to sleep soon, so can you
keep it short?"

I nodded, entering the room, Rachel followed.

The room was like any hospital room, in any Veres, drab. Fox
was sitting in the bed, in a hospital gown, with a bandage
around his head. "Oria, Council head!" he said when he saw
us.

"Please use Rachel out side of Council it's self."

Fox nodded, looking a bit wobbly.

"How do you feel?" I asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

He shrugged, "As well as one can, know that someone wants
you dead."

"You have any idea who would want to so this?" Rachel asked,
sitting on the other side of the bed.

He licked his lips, "Who ever redid the reports, trying to
get me executed for actions they did."

"I'm starting to take all of this seriously." she said,
running a paw through her hair.

He raised on eye brow, "What? You finally believe that
someone is trying to keep me from uncovering something they
want to keep hidden?"

She shook her head, "No, that this is not a few guys that
can hack records. This is looking like a major conspiracy."

Fox moaned, putting his head in his hands, "Great I've woken
up in an Oliver Stone movie."

"Who?" I asked in time with Rachel.

He sighed, "Never mind." He then looked at Rachel, "Listen,
I need a BIG favor from you."

"Anything I can do." she replied.

"I need a copy of EVERYTHING dealing with my exile, and the
events the occurred on Catarn, and I mean EVERYTHING!"

She looked puzzled, "You can get ninety-five percent of that
yourself, why do you need my help."

He leaned forward a bit, "Because this is to be strictly
under the table, no one is know about this at all. If they
do..." he trailed of ominously.

She nodded, "I see. I'll do my best."

"That's all I ask." he said, yawning, "Now, I'll see you in
the morning, as I need to get to sleep."

I nodded. "Goodnight Fox," I said. The I stood and left the
room, Rachel followed a few seconds later.