He can’t treat people like that… I have to say something! That wasn’t right!

Mooki was sitting at her desk. As she contemplated what exactly it was she’d witnessed last night, she reached a shaky hand out for her hot cup of cocoa, that read ‘One Smart Cookie!’ on its side. She couldn’t hold it steady; the chocolate lapped at the edge of the mug, threatening to spill at any moment.

“Mooki! How's that material report coming?” A voice barked from behind her.

She leapt out of her skin, spilling the warm brown cocoa down her uniform.

“Bu-bi-erm… N-needs more time!” She responded hastily, brushing at her legs with her oversized sleeves.

“Alright. No rush. Let me know if you need any help.” The voice called back calmly.

It was impossible to focus. She didn’t know exactly how much trouble she’d be in if she admitted to being in a level-five-access lab, alone. Students were only allowed to be in there when they had assignments to do, and always accompanied by qualified scientists to ensure their safety…

But this felt bigger than a university assignment.

T-that was malpractice! I know it was! You can’t treat someone like that. And the way he spoke to her! T-that was torture! H-her guts were hanging out!

She gagged as the image passed through her mind again.

“Muh-Martin, sir?”

“Yes, Mooki?”

“I n-need to s-speak to Evangeline!”

“Evangeline? What, now?”

“Y-yes, now.”

“Mooki, did something happen?” He responded, a worried edge in his voice.

“Y-yes. It did.”

Her chair scraped back as she stood up shakily from her desk, and she felt a gentle hand rest on her shoulder, but besides that, the majority of the trip to Evangaline’s office was a blur. A merge of white corridors, white lab coats, white armoured guards, and her heart hammering against her chest every step of the way. Her eyes couldn’t focus, and the voices around her muffled and faded out into a droning hum.

All of a sudden, a jet-black streak broke through her trance. It was as if her ears suddenly popped, and the world was snapped back into focus just as quickly. The slight whirring of the gentle overhead fans was deafening in her ears. Despite the thick padding underneath her rear, she shifted about uncomfortably; she couldn’t even recall having sat down in the first place. There seemed to be no comfortable place to rest her limbs either, despite the generously large armrests on either side of her. Mooki hadn’t seen the inside of the Head Administrator’s office before, and she hadn't really known what to expect, but it was sleekly decorated with an impressive half-stone, half-metal desk that looked back-breakingly heavy, and sufficiently regal. There were several curling jade-coloured plants in the corners of the surprisingly expansive room, and it was pleasantly warmed with air that smelled very… sterile.

Behind her impressive desk, the tall and imposing form of Evangeline stared down at Mooki, tilting her head just ever-so-slightly to the side, so slightly that Mooki had to question whether she did it at all. Her brilliant white and black physique was so startling, it was difficult to focus on her in totality; Mooki found that her eyes kept focusing on one half of her face, then quickly darting to the other to try and compensate. After the cold, clinical nature of the XITD’s labs, she really did stand out rather boldly.

“We took a risk bringing you aboard the station, Miss Rye. But, your test scores were excellent and your tutors spoke extremely highly of you, especially considering you’re a yuskol. My team has nothing but praise for your work and the quality of your reports, and no one appears to have an issue with you. And yet, suddenly you say the work is… too difficult..?”

“Y-yes.” She feigned, her big candy pink eyes briefly locking with Evangeline's icey blue glare.

The elder dragoness sighed softly, tapping a single finger against the notebook on her desk.

“I am happy to arrange your transport back to your university campus, although this will result in a failure for your module here.”

“O-okay.”

She shifted again in her seat, trying to look anywhere but Evangeline’s direction.

“Mooki, you can leave this office today and go home, no questions asked, but I will be direct with you and advise that it will severely damage your future career opportunities within this sphere if you proceed in that manner. You’re a smart, young girl - honesty is the best policy here. Why don’t you tell me what happened and let me see if I can help? Consider me an ally here. I wouldn’t have brought you aboard my station if I didn’t believe you were capable.”

The young dragoness continued to twitch in the chair, her skin glistening with sweat. She gulped audibly and twisted herself towards Evangeline.

“I - I saw something… but I was somewhere I wasn’t supposed to be!” Mooki’s fists clenched as she spoke, anticipating a verbal dress-down.

“Go on.” Evangeline spoke softly.

Mooki was visibly shaking in her seat, and she did a mental double take as the icy glare of Evangeline softened in response.

“... I - I was in one of the anomalous labs last night. I went into one I've not been in before…”

“E-Lab 15? The one with the czarite?” Evangeline asked.

“Y-yes! How did you know?”

“Educated guess. That lab is the talk of the station among the more veteran staff here. Please, continue.”

“I - I saw her, with her… her organs were splayed out in front of her, but she was still alive! She must have been in agony! B-but that wasn’t all! Another researcher came in, alone… He started talking to her…”

Their eyes met as Mooki continued. She was still shaking, but she was determined now.

“S-Scyler… He said some awful, awful things to her! He made her cry, and he threatened her! It was torture! That czarite is mentally ill, she has split personality syndrome or-or something! She needs help, and Scyler… Was… he was… he was threatening to kill her! Everybody around here says he’s a hero for discovering this new corruptive threat, but he was just acting like a total bully!”

Evangeline nodded understandingly, slowly rising from her chair and walking over to the large balcony window of her office.

“The imperial mandates have changed regarding czarites… It's not just immoral to do that to her, it's illegal! I know what I saw!”

“I understand, Mooki. That explains your sudden shift in persona. What you saw upset you greatly, it has made you question the integrity of the XITD, its personnel and its goals.”

“Y-yeah. I guess so! I just… I don’t know what to do…” Her shoulders slumped as she spoke.

“Bless you. A young yuskol, trying her best to make her way in a tough, unforgiving world of education and politics. I sympathise with you, Mooki. You remind me of myself, many moons ago.”

The dragoness clasped her hands behind her back and sighed softly, still staring at Mooki’s reflection through the thick glass of her well-decorated office.

“I-I do?” The young dragoness’s gaze slowly rose up, a twinkle visible in her eyes.

“Let's address the first issue you’re worried about.” Evangeline responded sharply, ignoring the question. “You were in a restricted area and that caused you harm, which means it's your fault. I did not restrict those areas of the station for fun, Mooki. I believe in access to knowledge as a principle of our empire, which means I would only stop you from going places to protect you.”

Mooki shrunk down into her chair, her wings curving around her body.

“But, I understand the curiosity and desire to learn more. Truly. In this instance, I will not be punishing you for straying from the path set. I think you have been punished enough, judging by your current demeanour. The question is, what do you want to do now? I will politely but firmly remind you of the NDA agreement you signed when you accepted the position here, which renders you unable to talk about ongoing project work you’ve seen at the station, for the security of our entire empire. But, personally, I don’t believe this is the end for you.”

Evangeline spun on her heels, turning to face Mooki whilst slowly walking back to her desk, and returning to her throne-like seat.

“What do you mean?”

“I want to see you succeed. As I'm sure your parents and friends do. Providing you do not violate your NDA, I see no reason to expel you from the facility. If you would prefer to work on the quieter side of the station for the rest of your time here, I can arrange lower priority work for you. It will be boring work, but safe work. If you wish to leave immediately, we can do that but you will receive a failing grade. Or, you may continue as you were. Your choice.”

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“But.” Mooki felt her heart race in her chest. “You - you…” She swallowed hard and grit her teeth, her wings wrapping around herself tightly. “You have staff members engaging in the illegal torture of a captive here! T-that is what I came to address!”

Evangeline blinked twice but continued to stare at the student, stone faced.

“I will speak to Scyler about his inappropriate behaviour and rectify the situation.”

“Y-you will?”

“Yes. I appreciate your dedication and courage to raise this issue to me. I will reprimand Scyler once a full investigation has been conducted. Once completed, I will personally ensure the czarite is treated more fairly. How does that sound?”

“G-good. That sounds good! Thank you, Ma’am. May I finish my placement with the lower priority work you mentioned?”

The elder dragoness smiled and nodded.

“You may.”

“Thank you, I’ll… get out of your scales…” Mooki quickly stood from the chair, bowed to Evangeline and departed from the room sharply. The air tasted a little less bitter now, but she couldn’t help but feel that there was something… off about their whole encounter.

*

“I need those nomad reports back ASAP. Our borders are on fire and I need to know why. Yes, thank you.” Jace closed his communicator and huffed loudly, his gruff voice echoing through the massive dragoon hanger he was working from.

He stood from his desk and began to pace around the hangar. His eyes scanned over the several dragoon chassises that were lined up, uniform but unpowered, and idle in their bays. Each one was a testament to the Draconic Alliance’s engineering. These were elite models, standing around ten metres tall, full to the brim with weapons, shields and armour. The head plate of each chassis were hand carved from a brilliant platinum alloy, known as gaussinite, able to weather fierce bombardment, withstand the heat of an atmospheric entry, and still retain its brilliant, near blinding shimmer.

Dragoons were deeply feared across most of the known universe by enemies of the DA. Functioning more like super-sized soldiers than a tank or walker, they were agile and deadly. Even the most basic versions were still equipped with a macro-vulcan rifle, a weapon capable of punching straight through several buildings in a row in a deafening roar of giant “macro-needles,” making a mockery of armour and shields.

Useless. We have all the firepower in the world and it’s sitting here, collecting dust and tourist money. Jace sighed, rolling his shoulder blades and tugging on the collar of his uniform. What's the use in having all this might and technology, if we just sit on it and let people die?

Suddenly, a familiar friendly voice echoed across the hanger.

“Jace! Thought I'd find you here! Needed somewhere quiet to work, huh?”

“Theo! Good to see you, my friend! I trust you’re keeping well? Did you recover the nomad reports?”

Ever brief, always work with you isn't it? Theo smiled. His walk was punctuated by a soft but firm footstep, and an alternating metallic clank. Theo was a sapphire rhargnorn dragon; well muscled, with rough skin covered in scars as deep as his history, and a thick, singular horn on his head, similar to that of a unicorn, if much thicker and more imposing. His right leg had been replaced with a heavy cybernetic just above the knee, as had his tail, which swung heavily behind him. He could be heard approaching from a mile away, but it rarely mattered. Theo hadn’t exactly been the stealthy type before.

“The nomads are getting ravaged at our borders, Jace.” The two men met with a strong handshake, and began to pace through the hanger together. “They’re getting squeezed on two sides. Vora Barons on the one, some weird sex cult thing on the other, calling themselves the Rewritten. They the ones you ran into before?”

“Yeah. Barru X. What can you tell me about it at the moment?” Jace clasped his hands tightly behind his back, his left hand squeezing the thumb of his right.

“Well, the Rewritten seem to be moving away from the borders, going deeper into nomad space. It's really hard to get intel on them, entire areas go dark once they hit, but it looks like it's moving out of our control; perhaps on purpose? Keep getting wind of some key players that everyone’s scared shitless of: Moltezz, Ink… Leech…? I think? They’re approaching Darkpaw’s borders right now, that’ll slow them down for a bit, I reckon.”

“And the Barons?”

“Fierce fighting with the Nomads, close to the borders but not close enough for our forces to take action.”

Jace stopped and raised an eyebrow.

“How… frequently does that happen?”

“What, the ‘close but not close enough’ shit?”

Jace nodded.

“All the time.”

The two men looked at each-other in silence for a few seconds, Theo went to speak but stopped himself as Jace subtly shook his head, and mouthed the words “not here.”

Theo nodded back, and the two continued as they were.

“How are the nomads faring against the Barons?”

“Badly. You know Barons, they’re fucking huge, wielding low-tech but high-yield shit. They’re getting eaten alive out there Jace, literally. Worse still, the Barons have gotten their nasty fat hands on some new ships.”

“New?”

“New.”

“Right. Someone is feeding the Barons. What degenerate low-life would do such a thing?”

“Degenerate… or desperate.”

The two men made their way back to Jace’s desk, which was currently covered in paper, the edges surrounded by a stack of holo screens floating at all angles.

“So… When do you want me out there? Haven’t taken out a Vora Baron for a while, would make a nice change from sitting around, posing for magazine photos with these useless things.” Theo flexed his knuckles and flicked his head towards the dragoons.

“Soon, soon… I… need you to do something else first though.”

“You sure? The Baron stuff is preeeetty time sensitive. I was hoping you send me to kill some of the fat fuckers, they’ve earned a grave or five.”

Jace chuckled quietly and shook his head.

“I need you to do a spot check on the head XITD research station, a couple of sectors from here.”

“Ugh. Those cunts? What you thinking?” A brief hint of disgust creased Theo’s face.

As they spoke, Jace rolled his shoulders again and turned to face one of the many stacked-up crates behind him. He pried off the lid and grabbed a fresh vest from inside and quickly slipped his current one off, revealing a massive pair of vertical scars on his back. Soon enough though, he was covered again and sporting a grey vest speckled with fine silver dots, that briefly shimmered in the light before fading away.

“You should really consider some regen’ therapy for those scars, Jace. You wouldn’t need a whole damn crate of medicated vests if you did!” Theo rolled his eyes, but there was a hint of concern in them. It was a conversation he had tried to start with the commander for years, and one he would never let go, despite knowing that he wouldn’t get a response. He never did.

“I’ve recently re-reviewed the reports and footage from the incident six months ago - the corruption incident.” Jace continued. “Something doesn’t seem right. The XITD reported that no live specimens were recovered, but there is an unaccounted party. I’ve been in touch with some of the survivors from Barru X’s capture, they supposedly lost one of their own czarites in the incident but never confirmed her death. My gut is telling me there is foul play. Those assholes have been locked up in their station for too long for them not to be working on something.”

“Oh? You think they grabbed a czarite and didn’t report it?”

“I do. I know Evangeline. And I know Scyler too. They play fast and loose at the best of times. The rest of the XITD will follow suit, you likely won’t get any of them to spill, so it’ll need to be a physical investigation of the station.”

“Do you have any evidence I can bring?”

“Nothing. Circumstantial at best.” Jace sighed.

“They could have just recovered a corpse, I suppose. Want me to just lay it on thick?”

“Please. I don’t know what it is, something about these reports feels fabricated, the whole thing from top to bottom is a king's mess. Hell, even that komodo that got auctioned off into slavery, I'm sure they manufactured his crimes, or at least modified them.” Jace scoffed, crossing his thick arms. “My intuition is telling me they're concealing something. They’ve been too quiet for too long, something or someone has their attention.”

“You know you're supposed to call it a “labour sentence” now, not slavery?” Theo chuckled. “As if that makes it any better.”

“You do know I do this political bullshit for the royals every day, Theo..?” Jace smiled, shaking his head.

“Too right. I trust your gut, I’ll go shake some nerds, see if I can find this lost czarite you’re talking about.”

“Make Evangeline think we know about the czarite, rather than just suspect. She is difficult to catch unprepared, but I know your rhargnorn charms will sway her somewhat.”

“Leave it to me. I’ll crack some of them big ol’ heads.” The dragon turned to leave. “What about the Barons though?” Theo asked, suddenly turning back as a concerned look swept over his scarred face.

“I’m going to formally request some border extensions and see if I can get some strike teams out, but I doubt I'll get them; I've already pushed my luck on that front.” Jace sighed again, loudly, resting his forehead against his thumb and index finger. “Those nomads will need a damned miracle to halt the Barons. I just don’t see how they’re going to do it.”

“Roger that. Stay sane, Jace. You’re doing good work.”

“It's never enough, Theo. It’ll never be enough.”

*

Mooki shuffled alone through the corridors of the XITD station, clutching several overfilled notebooks in her hands as she made her way to her new workspace, feeling better for having spoken to Evangeline, but still a little unsettled.

Her journey took her past a set of meeting rooms, usually concealed by auto-darkening glass, but this time, the occupants were quite visible. Aside from some graphic detailing on the glass. Evangeline stood one side of the room, glaring at Scyler, who was currently sat across from her, looking rather timid and shy, a remarkable change from how Mooki had last seen him acting.

She slowed down for just a second to keep them in view. Her ears twitched a little as she tried to hear what they were saying but it was useless; the privacy glass was far too thick.

The knot in her stomach eased a little.

Quickly, she scuttled off towards her new office; it probably wasn’t in her best interests to spy on her boss.

But maybe Evangeline had taken her seriously, after all?

*

“Now, I'm going to keep staring at you and shaking my head in disgust until she leaves. Continue to look stressed.” Evangeline spoke sternly, folding her arms.

Scyler twisted his head away from the glass, doing his best to conceal a smirk.

“Honestly. What were you thinking…?” She huffed again. “Good, she's moved on.” A brief flicker of a grin appeared on the dragoness’ face, but it faded as fast as it appeared.

“Pfft! Was this really necessary?” Scyler leaned back in his chair, reaching towards the panel behind him and activating the privacy glass.

“It was. I needed the yuskol to see that she has been heard. I don’t intend on taking any actual action against you, I just can’t have her knowing that. Ideally, she completes her course, leaves the station and never says a word to anyone.”

“Did you scare the shit out of her with the NDA crap?”

Evangeline scowled slightly at Scyler’s words.

“An NDA is not ‘crap,’ Scyler. They serve an incredibly important function. But yes. I reminded her of what was at stake. And, speaking of, I think it would serve you well to remember what’s at stake too.”

“Oh don’t nag me, I was having a bad night. I’m a field agent, stuck at base for the foreseeable future, doing admin, for goodness sake. And besides, none of the guys are gonna like that yuskol after this, people already know she’s tattled to you on the ‘hero’ of the station. No - you know what? I’m pissed about this. I want to raise a grievance!” A tremendously smug look stretched over Scyler’s face as he drank in his own words. “A king's-damned newbie is trying to drag my good name through the mud! I won’t have it!”

“You cannot raise a grievance against someone else's grievance, Scyler.” The dragoness rolled her eyes, sighing dramatically. “Moving swiftly on, I don’t think she’s a candidate for long term employment here any further. Her ethics are too rigid. I’d hoped she would be more malleable but she was unwavering; it was rather impressive for a student.”

“Not everyone is built to do what we do.” Scyler remarked in a serious tone.

“There’s certainly truth in that. If she keeps quiet, I see no reason to take further action. I will watch her closely, and ensure she doesn’t put herself or anyone else in danger. I -”

Suddenly, Evangeline stopped. Her eyes slowly swept across the room, deep in thought and heavy with concern.

“Is… everything alright? Having a seizure? Need a cream cake?” Scyler asked, raising an eyebrow.

“We’re overdue.” Evangeline uttered softly. “I… need you to scrub your reports.”

“What?!” Scyler stood from his chair, irritated.

“Scrub them! I need our reports bulletproof. We recovered a corpse from Barru X, Scyler, do you understand?”

“But I’ve already done -”

“- Then double and triple check your work. Jace is like a dog with a bone, he will not let go if you give him so much as an inch. Send me everything once you’re done. I must ensure the other teams have completed their reports stating that the corpse has since been destroyed. Our timeline must be immaculate.”

“Jace? Wait, do you know he’s coming?”

“I don’t, but I strongly suspect. What I do know is how that man thinks. Mooki’s little rebellion is a timely reminder of what we’re doing here. We might understand the weight of our work, but the Royal Military Division will not see it in the same way.”

“Understood. Bulletproof.” Scyler nodded, taking his leave from the room sharply.

He’d better not send Theo. That rhargnorn always scratches the floors with his ridiculous leg. She thought to herself, tapping the pocket on her waist coat.

…It's going to be Theo.

*

It's a little cramped in here, cosy though! Mooki thought, ducking under a shelf welded onto the wall. Her desk was firmly bolted against the wall in what felt like an oversized utility cupboard, but it had an odd, old-fashioned sort of charm to it; just as well really, as this would be her new office for the next six months.

She paused as she noticed a brown stain in her thigh from earlier, sighing loudly as she realised that Evangeline would have most definitely seen that.

Not the best first impression… at least she seems to be doing something though!

She shuddered uncomfortably as the memories of seeing that czarite in the lab hit her again… The gore, the torture, the sound of the Scyler’s voice… She jolted up, and banged her head painfully on the corner of the shelf.

“Ouch! Dammit!” She sucked some air tightly in through her teeth and felt the side of her head for

injury, but she seemed fine. She ducked again and sat down in her new old creaky chair, clearly bought from some sort of clearance sale some time ago. At least it was quiet here.

But she couldn’t help but feel that she was suddenly very, very alone.