Without any new ideas, the emergency meeting was stagnating. Rather than dwell on his lack of imagination, Gareth knew he needed to keep his crew talking. Leon was leaning back, looking up as he thought.

“We’re getting closer. Leon, what do you think?” He said. Leon straightened and gave an apologetic shrug.

“I mean, it won’t help to say it, but if we can’t leave the ship, we’ll have to find a hiding place on the Helianthus.” He said, and Quinns perked up. The ship’s name was an easy way to catch his attention.

“A good hiding place… There used to be a room below the tree in the Gardens. Maybe – “

“No.” Sachi interrupted. Everyone turned to look at her, and she frowned. “Pulling back the roots will hurt him. It may even kill him. Therefore. No.” She said.

“Him?” Gareth’s curiosity got the best of him.

“Calling him ‘it’ doesn’t seem right,” She said. He nodded. Sachi’s love for the Gardens was the main reason she stuck around. If she felt right calling her favorite patient “him”, Gareth wasn’t about to argue. Serge spoke up next.

“There’s a room under there? That would be perfect for smuggling things,” Serge said. Surrounded on all sides by withering looks, he added, “If that were on the table.” He scratched his head as he thought before turning to Sachi. “If anyone could keep that tree alive, it’s you, Sachi.” He said. Sachi shook her head at him, but before she could respond Yulia interrupted.

“That’s true! No one gets organics like Sachi does.” Yulia grinned.

“Flattery won’t get you anywhere.” She scowled, but Gareth could see the flattery had an effect.

“Sachi.” Leon started next, “If we’re gonna take on missions like this, we need somewhere to hide. You know the inspectors won’t look twice at it. With the amount of life in that room, even the imperial bio scanners could fail. It’s our best -”

“Leon.” Gareth said. Leon glanced over at him, before looking back to Sachi again. Really seeing her again. Her position was very proper with her back straight and legs crossed at the knees. Her arm was across her stomach while the other hand massaged her temple. Both of her eyes were closed. She used the opening to speak.

“I understand.” She said and opened her eyes. “You will listen to my commands while you dig. Caution will take longer, I know, but it is worth it.” Her strict attitude had returned. Calm and attentive.

“Don’t worry. I got your back.” Serge patted the back of her chair, “And whatever you demand is sure to be good exercise, too.” He revealed one of his rare grins.

“You can count on it.” She said. Gareth could hear the levity in her voice despite her unchanging expression. Excited by the changing atmosphere, Yulia chimed in.

“I’ll help, too. We can definitely do this much.” She said. There was a moment of quiet that Gareth took as a chance to move the conversation forward.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“This plan is a good start. We will be going forward with the inspection, then. Good. Regardless of our feelings on the UEE,” He glanced at Serge, before continuing. “They do have the highest proportion of planets and stations under their flag. I’d prefer to stay on friendly terms.” He said. Nevermind the danger posed by unfriendly terms, he thought. “With that decided, I will bring Valorie in for our discussion of the inspection process.”

He tapped the table’s surface a few times, opening a large display on the opposite end. Next, he opened the holo-screen for his ring PD and called her. It rang, and he transferred the call to the display by tapping his ring in the area designated on the table. She picked up and her video feed filled the display on the opposite end. Her eyes traveled across the attendants before focusing on Gareth.

“Davis reporting, sir.” She said.

“Hello, Valorie. You are now present for our emergency meeting regarding the UEE inspection.”

Her brows furrowed at the word inspection, but there was no other change to her blank expression.

“What’s wrong?” He asked. The furrowed brows cleared, but her eyes went to the floor.

“Imperial command forbids the sharing of confidential information. Being marked for inspection is considered confidential.” She said. She hid her displeasure with the Captain in formulated jargon. He recognized this technique for dealing with sensitive commanders. Gareth caught himself before he smiled.

“You want everyone to act surprised?” He said. She didn’t flinch, but her extended silence gave him the answer he was looking for.

“It is not my place, sir.” She said. The words seemed to ground her, and her unreadable eyes were watching him once more. He nodded.

“I see. Now that everyone is present, let us talk about what is going to happen. Once the docking bridge is locked down, there will be a meeting held in the inspector’s entrance bay. Initial scans will be performed at this time.” No one made a move to speak up. He had their rapt attention. “The results of those scans will affect the thoroughness of the inspection. Following that, the physical inspection will begin lasting until their standards are met. Once the captain calls them back, they will be out and disengaged in short order. With that, we will be home free.” He said.

“You make it sound so easy.” Leon said and Yulia nodded with a laugh.

“Right?” She said. Their levity got a smile out of him. He could feel the rising optimism, and the room appeared brighter.

“If we do this right, it should be easy.” He said. “I will be taking Leon and Valorie with me for the initial meeting. Quinns will -” He began but Serge interrupted.

“Why not tie the ship up in a bow for them, too?” He said. Yulia elbowed him but he shook it off. This got a reaction out of Valorie that Gareth was not expecting. At first, she looked down – a mannerism shared by every single one of the SCT clones. This much he had come to expect from her. Valorie did not look like one of the clones, but she must have endured the same training. No, it was what followed that surprised him. He had opened his mouth to reprimand Serge, when he saw her grit her teeth and look up.

“You trusted me enough to bring me aboard.” She said. Her voice was stern. Everyone looked to her as she spoke. Even Serge. “Let me do my job.” He’d never seen that fire in any SCT member. Her expression fell back to default and she waited. That was it – the storm had passed. Silence and patience – favorite tools of the SCT.

“And what’s your job, now?” Serge broke the silence she cast. He faced her as an adversary, but the outright nastiness in his voice was missing. Gareth wondered if Serge had found some shred of respect for this fiery Valorie.

“To protect my vessel through communications.” She answered. Her straight, even tone had returned. The SCT must have been trained so thoroughly to maintain such concise control. It gave the off-putting sensation they were hiding something below the surface. It made her hard to trust.

Serge looked as if he were about to respond when the door to the meeting room slid open. There stood Representative Shayla. Her scarf was missing, and her clothes ruffled. Hair had escaped the tight bun and stood up with static. Eyes wild with panic swept over the room. Gareth braced himself. This could not be good news.