Exodus: Empires at War: Book 8: Soldiers (Exodus: Empires at War.) by Doug Dandridge

transport.
    The words said
welcome, but the attitude the Lieutenant was picking up was one of warning off
an outsider.  He nodded to the cop and walked past him, heading for the
actual scene of death.  He was thinking of shutting down the scene,
chasing all of the civilians away while he waited for the military response,
but decided that he would get a look at what they had first.  It wasn’t as
if the local police hadn’t seen all there was to see.
    “Lieutenant
Rykio,” said a woman in plain clothes, walking up to him with her hand held
out, the expression of someone who knew her crime scene was about to be taken
from her on her face.  “I’m Lieutenant Matthers.”
    Ishuhi’s implant
interfaced with hers, sending the query through the police net so both could
verify the identity of the other.
    “Could you show
me what you have?” he asked, pointing to the spot down the tracks where so many
people were gathered.
    “Of course,” she
agreed, leading the way.  “I have to tell you, I thought this was just an
accidental death when I was first called in, after the track alarm
activated.  They don’t happen often, but they do happen.  Then we saw
what we had, and I knew it was one of them.”
    Ishuhi was sure
he knew what them meant, and as they approached the remains splattered
over the tracks, he had to agree that it probably was a case of them. 
Those were not human organs on the track.  They were the wrong color, the
wrong smell.
    “Have you done a
scan on them?”
    “Forensics have
scanned them with both remotes and nanites,” she said, puffing up like she was
insulted that he would have to ask.  “Not human, or any other species
we’re used to dealing with.”
    The information
had filtered through the planetary databanks within moments, and been matched
within the imperial security secure database.  Which had brought him
here.  He looked over the remains a moment later, including a head that
was miraculously intact, sitting on the grass on the side of the tracks, dead
eyes staring straight ahead.  The head was human, though he was sure that
the brain would turn out to be anything but.
      The
Lieutenant, acting in his role in Fleet Intelligence, sent a signal to the
office on the planet.  A moment later his orders came back, including the
directive recalling him to active duty and putting him in charge of the
investigation.
    “I hate to tell
you this, Lieutenant,” he said, sending her his code change over the net.
    “You’re taking
over,” she said in a resigned voice, then widened her eyes as she saw that he
was now operating in a new persona.  “Captain Rykio.”
    “This is now an
Imperial Fleet investigation scene,” he told her, his eyes looking into
hers.  “Please remove your people from the scene.  I still want you
to secure the perimeter while we’re waiting for my people to arrive.”
    The policewoman
nodded, then stormed off, the set of her shoulders tight.  Ishuhi
commiserated with her.  No one liked to have their toes stepped on. 
But this had gone from an investigation of an accidental death, with the
possibility of foul play, to an investigation of a possible spy ring. 
From this moment on it was really not important who this person, or thing, was,
or what they were going to do.  What was important was where they came
from, and where they could find the rest of the Yugalyth colony, before the
shape shifters went to ground again and hid out.
    Minutes later
the first of the Fleet air vehicles landed and disgorged the security troops
who would secure the area.  Soon the civilian police were leaving the
area, most of them cursing the Fleet under their breath for taking their case.
    “Captain Rykio,”
stated the Lt. Commander who came to attention in front of him.  “I have
two tracking teams here.  Orders?”
    “Program your chemo
and genetic sensors for both the human and Yugalyth samples around the
tracks.  Then I want you to try and track them back to