The world slowed to a crawl, Malan’s split-second decision to place himself between the woman and his unarmoured companions seeming to take an age to actually happen. He was barely half a step in front of Lugh and Elena when his display registered movement far faster than he himself was capable of, even enhanced by his suit.

Standarr surged from his position, racing towards the woman with the gun so fast she didn’t even register him until he was halfway to her. Malan’s display went haywire, suddenly reading a raft of prosthetics and enhancements powering the head of security’s movement. He’d already withdrawn his sidearm and aimed it with perfect form even as he hashed forward.

Malan saw him breathe in, and prepared himself to see the woman crumple into a bloody heap, when Lugh’s voice stopped them all where they stood.

“Do not harm her,” he roared, and Malan was surprised to see genuine fury replacing Lugh’s previously slimy countenance.

Julian stopped cold, though his grinding teeth gave away just how unhappy with that he was. Lugh ignored him, putting his hands out imploringly to the woman.

“Bessna, please do not do this. Not here. You don’t want to harm anyone. You are better than that.”

The woman, Bessna, still held her weapon aloft, but the hands gripping it trembled violently. Her lower lip quivered, fresh tears streaking down her face as she stood before Lugh. “H—he killed…T-took…”

“I know, Bess. I know. I’m so very sorry,” Lugh said, edging forward, closing the distance between them.

Bessna looked between him and her weapon. Malan could see her trying to imagine herself pulling the trigger. What that would look like. Feel like. He could also see that Lugh was right—she didn’t have it in her. Her trembling spread to her legs, and the collapsed underneath her.

Lugh moved faster than his size should have allowed. His arms were around her before she’d hit the ground, and he pulled her into his chest, as he carefully dropped to his knees. Now, the only sound was this woman’s broken sobbing, and Lugh’s hushed words of comfort.

He looked up, the very vision of a man exhausted to the bone, all previous airs put aside. “I am sorry you had to witness, this, Starbound. That any of you have. Our facilities in the deepest parts of Mykeser’s jungles are, by necessity, not always the safest. Poor Bessna has recently lost her husband and son in an incident at their facility, and holds me responsible.”

He sighed. “She has the right of it, I fear. Please, take yourselves to the Citadel and get yourselves settled in for tonight. Relax and enjoy your evening—your repairs will be completed by tomorrow lunch, and you can get what supplies you need from the ground floor. I will take care of Bess—do not worry, she will not be punished for this. She is a victim, more than anything.”

With that, a mouse-faced aide scurried over, clearly intending to escort them, only for Elena to wave them off.

“We can make our own way, thanks.”

Malan glanced back at the sobbing woman, and Julian who stood watching her with fists clenched, before following Elena and Thaddeus away from the top floor. Once they were safely out of earshot, back inside the elevator to carry them to the hospitality floor, Elena spoke, voice low and serious.

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“Did you notice, Malan?”

He nodded. “Neither Julian nor Bessna actually mentioned anybody having been killed. Only implied it.”

Elena blinked, before scoffing. “I meant the fact that Bessna wasn’t aiming for Talorcan.”

“What?” he said, head snapping to look at his former captain, before realisation hit him. “Julian.”

“These people are trying to hide something from you, and are doing a real shitty job of it.”

“Lugh has been shifty since he laid eyes on us. Far too snivelly for someone clearly doing as well as he is. And Julian gives me the creeps.”

The door opened, and Elena led them toward the Citadel as she replied. “He’s the real deal, unfortunately. Enhanced, going by his movements, and trained. A killer. Could be former military turned private security, I suppose. Could be something else just as easy, though. The real question is, what do you want to do about it, Malan?”

He started. “Me?”

“Of course. You’re Starbound, now. You have the power to change things, here.”

“I’m not yet,” he corrected, and Elena smirked.

“They don’t know that, do they?”

“I suppose. Not sure it makes much difference, though. We only have suspicions to go on, and this planet isn’t UGC. Turning up to the Nexus having caused a major diplomatic incident on an Independent planet would be…Not ideal.”

Elena shrugged. “It’s up to you, Starbound. You’re right that we don’t know what’s actually going on here—not yet, anyway.”

Checking in at the Citadel was incredibly straightforward. They’d had three rooms prepared, and the staff had clearly been briefed to expect them and show them every kindness. They’d been told in no uncertain terms that they would pay for no food or drinks during their stay, and if they required anything, all they had to do would be to ask.

In his room, Malan barely noticed the luxurious décor, instead moving straight to the pure-white bathroom. His suit clinked across the marble floors, and at a thought, his mask rolled back, leaving his head exposed to the air before the mirror.

He washed his face, allowing the cool water to wash away the layer of sweat and grime that accumulated under the helmet in the heat and humidity of the jungle.

Dark eyes stared back at him from the mirror’s surface, and he wasn’t surprised to see the disappointment reflected in them. He could still hear the sobs of that woman, utterly broken and defeated. He could still see the murderous intent behind Julian’s, too. He’d fully intended to kill her, there and then, and had been livid he hadn’t been able to.

Malan wanted to intervene. Wanted to find whatever secret this colony was hiding, and help. Only, there wasn’t any real proof that something was wrong—no matter how loudly his instincts screamed it. Lugh’s explanation for Bessna’s behaviour made sense, it just felt like a lie. Julian looked the part of a security contractor—it just felt like a lie.

No matter how badly he wanted to, he couldn’t act on vibes alone. Especially when the consequences could be so far-reaching.

Unable to shake the swirling unease, he nonetheless made his way back out of the room. Elena was at the bar, and had invited Thaddeus and himself along with her. Thaddeus had refused, but a drink sounded like something Malan sorely needed.

An hour of small talk and several strong drinks didn’t manage to knock him free of the unease he’d felt, but it had at least taken their minds off it. Elena had a veritable treasure trove of stories from her time in the UGC military training, and now he was not employed by her, she was a lot more open to sharing.

However, after a small, easy lull in the conversation, her expression became serious.

“You know, Malan,” she started, pausing to take a drink from a long-necked bottle of something Malan hadn’t seen before. “I always meant to ask what happened with the Jauda. I know the basic story, of course. I don’t hire anybody without doing my due diligence. If you needed a terrible, mind-numbing job to bring in some money whilst you worked through your shit, who was I to question it?”

Malan swallowed, stomach twisting uncomfortably. He had a feeling he knew were Elena was going with this.

“Only, two years later and you were still here. Still keeping it all locked up tight. If anything, you were getting worse, not better. All that brilliance, wasted. ‘Course, that wouldn’t be the first time trauma had torpedoed somebody’s potential before it even had a chance. Whatever my own personal feelings were, it wasn’t my place. Only, what happened at the Jauda, happened again to my ship. And the target seems to have been you. I don’t blame you in the slightest, but if you can, I think I’d very much appreciate an explanation.”