Emilia grins, the swirling red tip of her cigar lighting up the outlines of her pupils.

"Well, for one, the COEN has no jurisdiction here, so you're basically stuck until further notice. And because of their little incident with the Ya'valt a few years ago, your time here or in your hold will not be to pleasant."

"... I mean, my family..." Ashihei murmurs, though unable to look in their direction.

"Ah yes, under Gala Fol jurisdiction and federal policy, your kin will have to stay here on A1 while we continue our investigation into Stravos. Your cooperation will be needed of course, and could make the process go faster."

Ashihei's shoulders slouch as if losing their built-up tension. "I-I see…"

"However," Emilia interjects while taking another puff of her cigar. "That's only while they're in custody with us. The Mlynan Bureau, or Mly Bol, will likely want to conduct some intel of their own. If they put in the right paperwork, your family could be in their hands and quite the callus-filled hands they are."

Ashihei grunts under his breath with a nod of his head. "Please… Just take me instead. They had nothing to do with this."

Emilia chuckles while swirling her bourbon glass, the icy-blue liquid splashing against the interior. "You should've thought about what actions would ensue when you made the decisions you decided to make. Cause and effect, it's an easily grasped concept that is learned in our youth, Dr. Yamauchi."

She then takes a sip of her glass. The liquid crawls down her throat with a gulp as she lets out a chilled sigh. "It's such a shame, though, I do know how the Mlynans get their information, and it's not very appealing."

Ashihei grips his hands into fists.

"First, they'll presumably start with some micro-incensions into their brain and face. See if sticking a horoscape needle would jog their memory into anything they know. They're quite lenient, though, so they'll probably make your children watch as they inject your wife first. Her cries in between calling your name and desperate pleas to stop would cause some horrific torpor."

"Stop…"

"If that doesn't get them anywhere, they'll probably induce them into hyperactive sleep with several neurotoxins to put them in a number of scenarios. However, by the time they're done they'll be more dead than alive with their brain's tissue now dead in several places."

"No more, please…."

Emilia then switches her legs one over the other with a smile, taking another sip of her bourbon glass with black smoke flowing from her mouth. "You'd think they'd be satisfied with moving corpses but, ha, think again! They'll just rev them in MedPods and start the process over again with more elaborate torture devices. I can respect their ill treament practices, but I can't respect how they sometimes get messy. But, I'm sure they'll tell you all about between phrases on their Med-com interfaces like: 'Why weren't you there for us' and 'How could you do this?'"

Ashihei whips his head upward, his dark-brown eyes seething with an unseen flame as he lets out a breath. He then charges forward, his circular glasses falling from his face and shattering onto the ground as he roars with a low growl. His teeth visibly clench as he reaches for Emilia, only a few feet away. Her eyes closed as she gave a phlegmatic response by taking another sip of her glass.

"… Father, don't!" Loliel shouts.

"… Ashihei, please stop!" Vivi beckons.

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His bulky masculine fingers were only a few steps away from his target, his mind, and eyes clouded by an innate rage.

"… Sorry, though not really."

Ashihei's eyes twitch to the right as he sees a small figure duck under him with a quick few steps. Miya grapples onto his extended arm and pivots around him. Despite the incredible difference in size and muscle mass, Miya locks his arm behind his back and rotates him about, making him lose his footing. She then kicks him in the back of his knee, slamming his face onto the black hologram glass table, creating a crack form beneath his face.

Miya looks over to Emilia, still gazing at the contents of her drink as if aloof.

"Are you alright, Madam Coordinant?"

Emilia nods her head with a smile. "You're so thoughtful Miya, thank you so much!"

She then takes a puff of her cigar, leaning down so that her and Ashihei's faces are a few inches apart. Her smog coats his face, making him cough and sputter as he attempts to move out of Miya's hold, but to no avail.

"Let's add, attempting to assault a high-ranking civ-officer to the list of misconducts… Shall we?" Emilia grins, her eyes giving off a blush-pink glare.

Vivi collapses onto the ground and crawls over to Ashihei, gripping his back with a heavy sob. She attempts to convey words but can only clench his shirt, pinning her head onto his back as tear droplets dampen his white clothing. Loliel walks over and rubs Vivi's back, her eyes gazing down with dread.

Miya looks down at the mourning family and loosens her grip, making Ashihei sputter as his neck tilts from its crooked angle.

"Wait, Madam Emelia… I may have a solution, somewhat."

Emelia leans her back onto the white cushion on the sofa, letting out another black puff. "… Solution? I don't see a problem that needs to be corrected, but please, go on."

Miya whips her XMS pistol from her holster with a puff. The midnight blue outer shell gleams in her hands as its nozzle flexes out and constructs itself a longer barrel.

"Dr. Yamauchi may be an astrophysicist... However, he was also on the committee at Stellar Security that manufactured the Xeno Mactu Shift pistol a few centuries ago, along with A1's own Dr. Heitmann."

Emilia's hand stops mid-air before placing her cigar between her lips as her eyes graze Ashihei's blood-smeared cheeks. She then taps the end of the cigar, making the spiraling red neon light fade, then turn into ash while setting her drink on the table.

She then performs a circular motion with her wrist.

"I know there's a trusty-discharge system set in place for those who can be of use for A1." Miya takes her interest as a chance to continue. "What if he worked off his service here on Aestero Pol instead of being sent to a holding facility. The XMS technology isn't perfect, and his input, qualifications, and expertise make him the perfect assignee to the research department in Aqu Rol."

Emilia put a finger to the side of her face while the others lingered below her chin. Her eyes then close with a subtle breath as she nods her head side to side in pondering.

Miya glances down at Ashihei. Their eyes meet for a second as a bead of sweat swivels down Ashihei's chin mixing into the mauve mixture on the broken glass table. She then looks over to Loliel, rather than her father, whose eyes are filled with desperation; her's are shaded with disappointment.

Emilia claps her hands together and stands up with a hardy stretch, then walks up the side of the sitting area onto the upper platform. She stands in front of one of her floating stands, caressing the leaves of an iceberg-blue potted plant that gleamed in its artificial light cube.

Miya takes her knuckles off Ashihei's back and his pincered arm, making him fall to his hands and knees with a gasp. Ashihei then looks over to Loliel and Vivi. However, they are unwilling to return the favor.

"I feel you have good judgment, Miya. If you're sure that this man won't cause any excess issues here, then I'll assign him to the Xacto research department to pay off the time he would in a detention facility."

Emilia then turns her head to the side, her blush pupils protruding a pink glare that makes Ashihei shutter.

"However, if I find out he's more of a nuisance than a resource… You'll be ordered to dispose of him right in front of his family, then them right after."

Miya bows her head with an arm across her chest as she clicks her heels together. "Yes, Madam Coordinant! Thank you for giving this scum an opportunity to show his worth to the Federation!"

Emilia turns around, performing a dismissive wave while looking past her large window panes into the gloaming of space. "Be off then. I was wanting to give you your equipment, along with a rundown of general responsibilities, but this has been an arduous solar day. Get some rest. Meet me back here first thing on the sidereal."

Miya lifts Ashihei from the floor and nudges him to the exiting stairwell. She then turns around and extends her hands out to Vivi and Loliel. They each accept her support and spring up from the floor, following the stairwell a few paces behind.