Sweet Venom Arc 03 Ch. 05

Evangeline's brow scrunched, and her face creased ever so slightly in time with the approaching noise.

*Clomp--Clomp--Clomp*

He better not -

A sharp metallic crack echoed out from the other side of the lobby's main doors.

"Eh, it'll buff out!" A muffled but gruff voice announced.

The dragoness' eye twitched, but she forced a smile as the doors before her parted with a rush of steam, revealing the source of the fuss.

"Officer Kintrax. So pleased to see you!" She called out. Her eyes briefly flickered between the perfectly polished white tiles of the lobby and the heavy mechanical foot that looked more like a hoof made from a car engine than an actual foot, that was just about to touch down within the station's premises. He was dressed in a sharp black shirt with oversized cuffs, a pair of tough-looking black combats, and an armoured waistcoat, thick with metal and stamped with one of the RMD's emblems; a gold-laced dragon wing, with several golden bullet holes through its membrane.

And, of course, the Kintrax trademark look - a single black boot for his single organic foot.

"So formal! We're all friends here! Theo is fine, Evangeline!" He smiled a smile that was all too wide and all too knowing. His walk had a sway of confidence to it, if a bit of an odd gait.

"Of course. How could I forget? So! What brings you to my humble little station without so much as a day's notice?" Evanageline gripped her hands tightly behind her back and spun to walk side-by-side with Theo as he strode towards the huge, semi-circular, brilliant white front desk in the middle of the lobby. He was gunning for the small bowl of sweets with increasing vigour.

Evangaline herself was clad in her usual affair, styling a long white lab coat and suit underneath, with a deep blue hue to the fabric.

Within seconds, the rhargnorn had unpeeled a couple of chocolates and was munching on them loudly, turning back to face Evangaline's unflinching demeanour with chocolate-covered teeth.

"Inspection time, as requested by Commander Koa!" He pulled what was once a neatly folded, but now a scrunched-up mess of a letter, bearing the same RMD logo in the header, out of one of his trouser pockets and thrust it towards Evangeline. "Gotta see what you egg-heads are up to! Make sure you're following all the laws and decrees, as set by our wondrous and ever-generous royal family!"

"Mhmm, so -"

"- Now, an inspection is when your place of work is investigated - a term defined as examining something and putting it under great scrutiny, - to ensure that it is following lawful conduct." Theo interrupted passionately, puffing his chest out. Despite standing a full head shorter than her, his gaze remained absolutely fixed to her icey, emotionless eyes. "In order to ensure your safety, and everyone else's aboard this Draconic Alliance XITD, or 'Xeno Threat, Investigation and Dismissal' regional headquarters, I will leave absolutely no stone unturned."

There was a brief silence as Theo grinned at Evangeline, waiting for her to speak. The dragoness' gaze intensified, and she opened her mouth, taking the bait. As expected, Theo immediately continued to speak the moment her throat began to creak the slightest hint of a word.

"I can understand, you being head of this facility and all, that you must be feeling some pressure from this sudden visit. Well, rest assured, any complaints you have about the process will be duly noted and passed on to my superior, Commander Koa, for action. In the meantime, as long as you've been following protocol, everything should be dandy! Shall we?"

He gestured towards and started to make his way over to the entrance leading to the E-labs, which were protected by a heavy security door and guarded by a single soldier (as most of the labs were), but not before grabbing another handful of chocolates from the bowl.

"Of course. Thank you for your wonderful description of a workplace investigation, consider any doubts I may have had clarified! I will need to escort you through the high clearance labs, but I cleared my schedule this morning the second we got your communication, so that should be no issue at all." Evangeline spoke with a perfectly practised enthusiasm, perfectly mirroring Theo's exaggerated tone. "I take these inspections very seriously, and I can't wait to see the outcome!"

"How brilliant! Your cooperation is expected, but still greatly appreciated!" The two began their journey together with equally forced smiles, walking through the pristine bowels of the space station together. The occasional scrape of Theo's mechanical tail against the station's floors and walls would make the dragoness vibrate with frustration, but there was little to be done about it; she knew he was trying to antagonise her.

"Provided all your reports have been correct, I imagine this is going to be a quick visit." Theo unwrapped another chocolate and popped it into his mouth, and continued to talk whilst chewing.

"Excellent. Then it shall be a quick visit."

"Glad you think so. I'd love it to be quick too. Would be a real shame if I were to, say, stumble upon a prisoner who hadn't been declared and was being mistreated as a scientific object instead of a living being."

"That would be awful." Evangeline agreed, nodding her head solemnly.

"It would. Would be worse if the prisoner in question was a czarite, too. Considering that czarites have been leaving the DA in droves lately, and the royal family has seen fit to declare all czarites as true draconic citizens to try and encourage them to return, regardless of their place of origin -"

"- A true horror, that would be -"

"- Which means that a nomadic czarite would still be fully protected by DA law, despite not originating from DA space, which means any form of non-consensual practice - including study and research, irrespective of any medical conditions they may or may not have - would be absolutely illegal and punishable by the maximum extent of the czarite protection decree. Which carries a title stripping and a prison sentence of up to one-hundred and fifty years."

"As it should. I'm so very glad you're fully up to date on your royal decrees, Theo; a true hero to the empire!"

"So, naturally, the discovery of a mistreated or falsely imprisoned czarite would be utterly disastrous for everyone involved. Does any of that... ring a bell, Evangeline...?"

"Not a single word of it."

Theo's grin dropped off his face as he turned his head back briefly to glare at the dragoness.

"Well maybe it fuckin' should!" He growled, ceasing the polite act suddenly and turning back to face the first lab on their journey. "You think you're gonna get away with this? You're not. I'm gonna find that girl, and if I can't find her, I'm gonna sweat it out of your fuckin' lackeys here. One of them is gonna fold, I know it."

"Girl? Theo, I don't know what you're referring to, but I can assure you that the primary project work the station has been engaged with has been done on the back of a corpse, recovered from the truly tragic incident at Barru X!"

"And that corpse is located where...?" Theo hissed, unimpressed.

"Destroyed. I ordered its incineration just two days ago, as the station reports detail."

"Well. We've reviewed your reports versus some external survivor accounts about the incident, as you so casually put it, and something ain't right. Someone is concealing something."

Despite his sudden change in demeanour, Evangeline remained completely calm, and continued to guide the dragon down the identical, stainless white corridors of the station. Shortly, they arrived at the first lab.

The security doors parted to reveal E-lab 1, where a team of XITD scientists were hard at work. Currently, they were analysing a selection of unknown AI hardware, discovered on the edge of the DA border. The head scientist was carefully dissecting a brilliant platinum-coloured drone, and another was recording their discoveries. This team included Scyler, who was standing close to the door, watching and idly and making notes. Upon seeing Theo enter however, he quickly went to shy away, attempting to hide his face behind his notepad, but the sapphire rhargnorn spotted him instantly.

"Speaking of! Here is the hero of Barru X, everyone! You trying to hide from me there, Scyler?" Theo announced loudly, quickly trudging over to the lizard and wrapping a thick arm around his shoulders. The entire team stopped what they were doing and watched closely, as an awkward silence overtook the lab.

"...Oh, shucks, I'm no hero, Theo!" Scyler feigned, getting some quiet laughs from the others.

"Hell yeah you are, bro. Let's talk about your incredible mission! The way you manipulated that mentally- ill czarite into attacking a station full of unprepared nomads really screams the word 'hero,' doesn't it? And to think, that station nearly had a normal day without you there! Good thing you were there, fucking about in nomad space after losing your entire RMD field-team just a few days prior, instead of coming home as ordered, isn't it?!"

"I mean -"

"- No-no, it's your turn to shut-the-fuck-up now." Theo uttered the words in the same way a parent might talk to a toddler. He brought his face close to Scyler's, still with his arm clamped strongly around the smaller male's shoulders. "I lost friends on that mission you led. I had to look into their children's eyes and tell them that daddy wouldn't be coming home this time, all because of you. I was there at your trial, too. You got so very, very lucky. Oh! I was also a huge fan of the way you lured the very same ultra-class psyker who killed the squads, to Barru X! Very brave of you. Naturally, you died heroically trying to help stop a completely accidental situation that you directly caused, right? Saving innocent lives from the hell you brought to their fucking door - OH WAIT! You're standing here, in front of me, healthy, paid and free to do whatever you fucking want." Theo suddenly pushed him away and Scyler stumbled back slightly. Theo turned to face the rest of the team, marching into the middle of the lab and glancing around at the rest of them with equal contempt.

"Anyone else think the guy is just an absolute hero? A true example of what the DA should stand for? Can't be just me? King of the nerds, ain't he? Should be in FUCKING JAIL!" Theo's bark in the middle of his sentence made the team jump as he stormed around the lab. "Rotting away, behind bars! Be a nice change of pace for you, being someone else's bitch for once. Cowardly fuck-scum." He spat. Despite his anger, as Theo paced he completed his search of the room in a methodical manner, taking in every detail of their operation.

Scyler went to respond, but stopped his tongue just as the breath began to leave his mouth after catching sight of a very subtle head shake from Evangeline, in the corner of his eye.

"You have an issue with the high court's decision regarding my staff?" Evangeline raised an eyebrow, standing at the door patiently as Theo continued his ranting inspection. "Are you questioning the integrity of the royal courts, Theo?"

"I absolutely am. Seeing as the RMD were on the prosecution, my bias and emotion over the result is allowed and permitted." He stated loudly, pushing through some hanging plastic curtains at the back of the room. "Feel free to put it in my feedback if you want, Evangeline. Give Jace a giggle."

The researchers remained glued to their spots, afraid of antagonising the rhargnorn who was easily more than twice the width of any of them. However, after a few more seconds of intense searching, he made his way back to the front of the lab and rejoined Evangeline's side.

"Looks all clear. Next lab then! Ta-ta you lot. Stay safe. Don't eat any vials or beakers."

Just as they left the room, Theo quickly leaned back in, pointing a strong finger directly at Scyler.

"Fuck you. Cunt. Please, stick that on your fucking report, I'd be happy to have my name on it."

And with that, he ducked back out and carried on down the sterile corridor with Evangeline to lab E-2.

"Somewhat unprofessional, Theo." Evangeline stated blankly, unlocking the next lab by pressing her card against the door-pad. This one was mostly empty, but the rhargnorn was quick to begin searching it. "I would prefer it if you didn't go around molesting my staff. You may disagree with the outcome of Scyler's trial, but the courts have stamped their decision already..."

"I can assure you, it won't happen again." Theo huffed, searching through some stainless steel drawers in the darkened lab. "That asshole is the only one on this station I care about. The fact that you're still employing him speaks volumes."

"Innocent until proven guilty, Theo."

"He was proven guilty. He was fired from the RMD and banned from any form of field work for a year."

"Punishment enough. I am no judge, but I see no reason to act any further. He did not violate any XITD policies, so it would be remarkably unfair to action anything from my side."

"Considering you lobbied in favour of him and his actions on Barru X... Let's move on, shall we?"

The next few lab inspections went by quickly, and Theo behaved as promised, only throwing some shade Evangeline's way. But, room after room, each ejectable laboratory was clean, and everything so far was to standard. Labs E-1 to E-10 were docked and checked, but E-11 to E-15 were all currently ejected and being transported between the different XITD stations. As such, their doors would only lead out to the vacuum of space. Evangelene provided Theo with the relevant documentation to show where the missing labs were, their reason for being ejected and where they had gone. Nothing particularly suspicious stood out to him.

They continued without issue until the pair approached a security door that was guarded by two XITD security personnel, with hazard tape stretched over its exterior and a couple of waist high barriers around its front.

Evangelene went to pass by without so much as glancing at it, but Theo immediately stopped in his tracks, scowling at the taller dragoness.

"Uhm, excuse me? You seem to be ignoring a lab here? What is this, E-16?"

"That is off limits, there was -"

"Off limits? Ex-fucking-scuse me?" Theo raised his voice, frowning sharply at Evangeline.

"We've had an accident within the lab and it's dangerous to enter without hazard gear."

"Then get me some hazard gear...?" Theo sighed, exasperated.

"Really? You want to inspect an accident? No one was hurt, I have the report all ready for you."

"I want to do my damn job. Make sure you're not hiding something in there that you shouldn't be."

"Theo. This is a waste of time."

"OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!"

"Ugh. Fine. You!" She pointed at one of the on-duty guards. "Get him a burner EN-modular shield from the armoury."

"Yes, ma'am." The guard quickly left his post, his armour rattling loudly as he charged off to fetch the requested gear. The remaining three stood in a steely silence, until the guard eventually returned with a shield module in hand, which he passed to Theo.

The device powered on with a warm hum and encompassed the dragon's body with a multi-layer shield, visible faintly with a dark blue hue once it had simmered down.

"Open the doors for him. We'll need to disinfect you afterwards, for everyone's safety." Evangeline sighed, frustration visible in her body language now as she tapped on her suit pocket with a single finger.

Slowly, the doors parted in the same fashion as the other labs, and Theo stepped into the dark.

"Any lights?"

"No, Theo. The lab is damaged and needs repair. We can fetch you a torch if you -"

"No need." He rolled up his trouser and reached down into his bionic leg and pulled a small metal torch out of it from... somewhere, clicking it on and shining the beam of light around.

The floor showed some form of heat damage, and there was damaged circuitry hanging from the walls and ceiling, with some blue glowing fluid at the very back of the room, dripping from broken vials.

He shone the light around the lab but revealed little else of concern, just more damage.

"What caused this?" He asked calmly, trying to piece the scene together.

"Security malfunction. Ceiling turrets fried the place when a student broke those vials at the back. Those are the most dangerous objects in this room, potentially the entire station, procured from the Barru X corpse we were discussing earlier."

"Right..." Theo sighed and turned to leave, when he spied a new figure outside the lab, looking at him. He was a gas mask-equipped XITD agent with a large liquid-filled container on his back and a hose-like weapon in his hands, connected to his backpack via a thick, metal tube. "Well, that's fair enough I suppose."

He stepped out of the lab, replaced his torch back into his leg and held his hands up, shutting off the shield module once firmly out of the lab, and the door sealed.

"Just standard procedure. I did warn you."

"That you did." Theo sighed, shutting his eyes and taking a deep breath.

The gasmasked guard pulled the trigger on his sprayer and unleashed a torrent of high pressure, clear liquid at Theo. The fluid hissed loudly as it fully soaked his clothes and skin, filling the corridor with billowing steam. The rhargnorn did a slow spin on the spot, to ensure he was hosed down thoroughly. Despite the copious amounts of fluid sprayed, within seconds, the cleaning agent had evaporated entirely, leaving Theo's form completely dry, if somewhat steamy.

"Ready to continue?" Evangeline asked, glancing over him to ensure he had been fully cleaned, nodding in thanks to the guards around her.

"Ayup. All clean. Next lab?"

From top to bottom, Theo's inspection proceeded without issue. Despite searching every drawer, every rack and every cupboard he could find, the station yielded nothing of any criminal intent. All the reports made sense, and the station appeared to be running as promised - flawlessly.

Once his search of the high security areas and E-labs was complete, Evangeline left his company to return to her office, with Theo being given full access to the rest of the station without requiring an escort.

Try as he might, and try he did, Theo just couldn't get any of the staff to admit anything. They all replied with similar, almost practised answers, all reciting the same information. They recovered a corpse from Barru X, and had burned it recently. That was all.

The rest of the station was boring compared to the E labs at the start, just room after room of computers, standard machinery and whiteboards. Sprinkle in some restrooms, break rooms and meeting rooms and suddenly, this felt like every other station he'd inspected. There certainly was no sign of any falsely imprisoned czarites.

Eventually, his search led him to the very most quiet areas of the station; the storage and utility floor. Few people came down here as it was nearly completely automated; there was likely little of value here but he wouldn't rest until every stone was unturned.

Hopeless. They've cleaned house and baited me with that damn damaged lab. Ugh. I'll have to tell Jace that the czarite is -

*Bang!*

"Ow! Ugh!"

Theo stopped and turned towards the noise.

"Hey, you alright?" He called out, clomping down the corridor in his own unique manner.

Beating her wings in frustration, a small, cute, wheat-coloured dragoness stumbled out of her office, dropping a stack of papers over the floor. Initially she looked annoyed, but her face quickly flushed bright red with embarrassment as she caught sight of the taller rhargnorn staring at her.

"Eek! I-erm-I-Yup-yup! I'm fine! Just fine, mister..?" Her large, candy pink eyes rapidly darted around the corridor, trying to look anywhere but at the muscular male ahead of her.