"Diana Harp. Twenty-nine years old, Caucasian, average weight and height. Works as a mechanic at the local Check and Go. Called in sick this morning but there so far there are no real signs of her actually being sick."

"Any signs as to what the truth was."

"There is possibly sexual assault, but otherwise that's why you're here detective," the officer handed detective Mason a tablet, "A background check shows that she was a part of a gang over a decade ago that landed her in prison for a while. She helped steal an Alliance ship off a military base on Earth. The gang went on to pirate for a couple of years before being put to a stop."

"The hell?" the detective flipped through the files on the tablet, "Seriously?"

"She wasn't one of the major players behind it, but she did assist in it. Because of her age at the time, her sentence was mostly focused on her actions as a part of the gang afterwards. Largely involving theft, property damage and drugs. Her record has been clean since her release." Mason looked up as they entered the room of the crime scene and met eyes with a brown, lizard like alien at the other side of the room.

"What the hell is that!" he jumped a little and held the tablet up like a shield. The alien's large black eyes narrowed a little as he studied the detective quietly, clasping his hands behind his back.

"He's the one that called it in," the officer said.

"Well why the hell is it still in here?" Mason hesitated to continue into the room, "Shouldn't someone be out there getting a statement from him, away from the scene?"

"Apparently he's a detective too."

"Like hell I'm going to let that thing get involved with this," Mason waved the tablet at the alien, "Go on, get out. Get. This is a human issue." The alien quietly turned to walk, ignoring the detective. He looked up at a giant Six on the wall that was drawn with blood. The back of his head had a v shape, leading down his neck and disappearing into the collar of his jacket, "Hey! I said get!" Mason finally took several steps into the room but kept a distance from the alien that was studying the six on the wall.

"What's wrong with him? Is he mute or something?"

"He was chatting quite a lot before you showed up, Mason" came Dr. Diaz's voice, "Try solving that one." The medical examiner was hunched over the body of Diana Harp collecting samples. An assistant next to her took picture evidence with his omni tool.

"Why, because I'm a human detective wanting to deal with a human crime?" Mason remained on the opposite side of the room from the alien but moved around the couch to see Dr. Diaz. She only shook her head, not lifting her eyes from the corpse in front of her. He looked over at the alien again, noticing him slide a few pieces of paper around on the desk, "Am I going to have to arrest you for tampering with evidence?" The alien continued to ignore him, turned and walked around the room, eyes scanning it. Finally Mason got up the nerve to approach the alien. He came up behind him and grabbed his shoulder. The alien turned with a look of disgust and Mason immediately jumped back a foot, using the tablet as a shield again, "I said to get out of here!" The alien wiped his shoulder quietly.

"Keep your filthy, pastry residue covered hands off me and address me appropriately."

"Alright! Enough!" Dr. Diaz slammed her kit's lid down, "Stop pissing all over the crime scene you two. You need to share," she picked her kit up, "Detective James Mason, this is Detective Sariel Vier. He is a drell, extremely rare species and not an it, quit being raciest. Detective Sariel Vier, this is Detective James Mason. He is an ass, but I think you need to get your own head out of your own ass and just tell him what he needs so we can get this poor woman some justice."

"You're withholding evidence at my crime scene?!"

"I am fully willing to share my evidence at my crime scene with a humanfor my investigation." Sariel met Mason's anger with a smug look on his face. Dr. Diaz rolled her eyes.

"Sere Vier I will have the samples ready for you when you need them. Just give me a call," Dr. Diaz turned to the officer and her assistant, "Move her body to my lab for autopsy."

"You can't move the body yet, I've only been here for a few minutes."

"Sariel has all the information you need sir. Trust me." Dr. Diaz stepped out of the room. Sariel turned quietly back to the six on the wall. He appeared to wait patiently for Mason to address him appropriately.

"This is my jurisdiction, this is my crime scene, this is a human issue. I don't need no damn lizard thing interfering in my work. I am ten seconds away from just having you arrested." Sariel lowered his head and shook it as he looked back to Mason.

"This crime has been committed on four other worlds in the last couple of weeks. That is why I am involved. It is an intergalactic issue."

"You couldn't have said this before?"

"I was waiting for you to apologize, but time presses me now. Diana died three hours ago. I only arrived here to Terra Nova an hour ago. I'll need to leave soon before the killer finds his next target."

"So you know who the killer is."

"Yes, his signature is right here," he held his hands out as he turned back to the six on the wall, "The human symbol for Six. That is his name, "he put his hands back down, "Six was recently released from prison. All the DNA evidence here will lead to his record, in which I encourage you to help spread the warrants for him to other human worlds as much as possible, even minor colonies. It seems that news isn't spreading as far and fast as it should. I haven't met him in person yet, nor he I, but I'm sure the rise in warrants for his arrest has him aware of me," he turned and looked at the body the officers were putting into a thick black, plastic bag, "Diana is Seven. The others dead, Two, Three, Four, and Five."

"Why did he give himself a number with his victims?"

"They were the names they were given when they were children and teenagers on the streets of Earth. Given by their leader who called herself One. She is an L2 Biotic who had run away from one of the early human biotic programs. When they formed their gang that they called Cipher. As they grew older, the gang grew powerful quickly. They were all very resourceful and intelligent in one way or another. In the end it fell apart just as fast. They got in over their heads stealing the Alliance Ship. They gained more members reaching nearly 50 and pirated, but it then turned out One wasn't that great of a leader after all. She began to mentally break down. Some simply left the gang, others were arrested in the end."

"So One is still alive?"

"She is currently living in a psychiatric hospital on Earth. Very, well guarded and watched. I have the suspicion he would have skipped her if she was not. She became a mother figure for all of them. They followed her so easily, she protected them. I interviewed her a week ago. She enjoyed playing the cryptic with me. She approved of what Six was doing because she believes they all abandoned her, but she knew nothing else about them."

"Do you know why he is doing it?"

"Not exactly yet. Maybe the same reasons as One. Held on too much value for that gang. Can't let go of the past. Perhaps jealousy. He has no other identity but fake ones where ever he goes. When he was arrested, they were unable to find his birth name and he just would not reveal it. To my current knowledge everyone else has moved on, produced real identities for themselves, good or bad. I knew Four as a Michael White. I was trying to track down him down on evidence of being a part of a major drug ring. Then I found him murdered exactly as you see here, " Sariel's voice seemed to change for a moment,

"The drip trail from the body to the six on the wall indicates the victims blood was used. No sign of struggle. Five stabs to the torso, one slash to the throat, six total. Location conditions and level of decay indicates at least four days dead. A sleeping bag is rolled up by the bed. Two plates on the table, one with a partial eaten meal, the other only traces of it. Someone trusted cooked White's last meal." Sariel paused for a moment and the humans all looked at each other. His voice returned to normal as he continued.

"Evidence later showed that Six used a drug to paralyze his victims and kept them fully awake. Having already investigated White's history a bit, I knew he had the alias Four. There had to be a connection to the Six. More research produced the knowledge of the gang, DNA evidence linked to Six's record, the rest of the murders came when I began to research the other former members. Each of murder almost identical," the two officers were now carrying Diana's body from the room, "If you look now, there is breakfast on the table in Diana's kitchen. A half full plate and an empty plate. He wants us to know he's doing this. The investigators for the previous murders never found the victim's former numerical names. They were looking for patterns in local crimes and then never bothered to use the DNA evidence beyond their world.

"I'm still trying to identify Eight, Nine, Ten, and Thirteen, which is proving very difficult as they all have tried hard to cover up their trail and pasts. Eleven and Twelve I was able to successfully warn, they're married. They and their children are under protection until the investigation is over, with false identities, but that doesn't help when Six insists on going in order. I have a few colleagues helping me shift through the information to find the other members while I investigate on the field. We found Five, I missed saving Torrance Wagner by a couple of days, now Seven, Diana Harp, by a few hours. So if you need anything further from me, make it quick. I arranged for a complete detailed report to be sent to your office later today. For now, I have to find out who and where Eight is hiding."

"I think I'd be more comfortable if humans were investigating this."

"That is a pity, Mason. Truly a pity." A wide smile crossed Sariel's face as he began to walk to the door.

"Why do you even care?"

"Because I'm not a careless, imbecile as you are. Really, how did you become a Detective Mr. Mason? I was held up waiting for you while you went to stuff your face with pastries."

"I was busy with another case, not eating donuts. You could have just left instead of waiting for me. The report would have been plenty."

Sariel paused at the door and only turned his head a little to speak.

"I believed it was important for you to know what was happening from me directly. In addition being that I was the one to call the emergency, I had to remain to ensure that my name was clean while I continued the investigation. However, that does all feel far less important now," he stepped through the door, "You have powered sugar on your wedding ring by the way."