Sweet Venom Arc 03 Ch. 05

Calmly, Theo approached her with a warm smile.

"I'm Officer Kintrax, but you can just call me Theo. I'm here on an inspection from the Royal Military Division. You sounded like you hurt yourself, are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine... I just bumped my head, that's all. W-what's the inspection about?"

She feels different from the rest of the creeps here, remarkably less ghoulish. Is that why she's down here by herself?

"I'll tell you in a second, let's have a look at that head of yours first." Theo spoke softly, gesturing for the student to turn her head.

She followed his orders, buzzing with embarrassment before him as he spotted a sore red lump on the side of her head. He peaked around into her 'office' and noted the shelves directly above her seat, the cramped interior and the dated furniture.

"What did you do?" He asked, laughing to himself.

"Wha-what do you mean?"

"You're working out of a cupboard, alone, on the utility deck. You did something. I was young once too, ya'know? I might look like a pair of jeans got into a fight with a lawn mower now, but I swear!" Theo laughed again, kneeling over and pulling a multi-tool from a slot in his leg. "Tell you what, you go grab yourself a drink and a bandage for that head of yours, I'll get these stupid shelves down and fix this place up a bit."

"I'm n-not sure you should be doing that..." Mooki mumbled, picturing all the trouble she could get into for this.

"Nonsense! It's literally what I'm here for. This workspace might technically be up to code, but I can certainly make it more comfortable for you! Go get your ass something sweet already! I'll have whatever you're having."

*

"- So it was only a few more seconds until the dickhead swung at me... with the statue of himself, of course."

"He didn't!" Mooki gasped, her mouth hanging open with shock.

"He damn well did. Chance knows how much that self replica cost him, but I wasn't about to let a skinny, self-absorbed asshole knock me out! So I laid him and his dogs out, and ended up keeping the statue as a trophy! He was smuggling over half a ton of contraband through the borders! Weird shit too! Pheromones!" Theo took a sip of his drink and nibbled the air as the super sweet chocolate tickled his throat.

Mooki giggled and rolled back on her chair, currently sitting in the middle of the corridor, outside of her 'office'. Theo had removed all the shelves and cabinets, and they were now lying about on the floor outside. There was something immensely therapeutic about watching the older officer tear down those stupid shelves, like she was finally regaining some control over her life. He was just about done reconnecting her desk and computer, making the once cramped space suddenly a lot more workable and a lot less dangerous to the student's skull.

Just as she relaxed though, the familiar voice of Mooki's superior called out, shocked to see the impromptu building work currently on-going, and a series of shelves and filing cabinets now sat in the once empty corridor.

"Mooki! What the hell are you doing?!"

The dragoness bolted upright and clutched her oversized sleeves around her mouth, but before she could respond, the muscular form of Theo popped out from the doorway, his sleeves rolled up and battle scars on full display.

"She ain't doing shit, pal." The manager's eyes bolted wide open with fear as he heard the bark of Theo's voice and realised what was on-going. He quickly ducked away with a mumbled apology, and shuffled back down the corridor. "I'll have your lanky ass cooking fries for the rest of your life if you interrupt my work again! Those shelves were a workplace hazard, asshole! Think about your life decisions!" Theo shouted after him, completely unphased.

As she watched her manager flee, a cute, hopeful smile graced Mooki's face.

"They're that afraid of crossing you?" Mooki asked quietly.

"Damn straight they are. The RMD carries punishment authority. If I want your manager gone, it'll happen, and he knows that. I can make you untouchable, just get your work done and get out of here; leave these creeps as soon as you can." Theo dusted off his hands, quite pleased with the handiwork he'd completed. "You're too good-hearted to be here, I can tell."

"Thank you, Mr Kintrax." She blushed gently, still holding her slightly chocolate stained sleeves up to her face.

"I keep telling people, Theo is fine!" He laughed, shifting the last metal cabinet out of the room. "This crap from your office can live out here, there is more than enough room for people to get past, and I can assure you the XITD's atrocious idea of a habitable office space is going in my report, in detail. Listen though, I... have something to ask you, before I go back."

Mooki bolted to attention, her eyes fixed on the rhargnorn's. Unlike his tough and worn body, his eyes were soft, and a warm buttermilk colour.

"My superior, Commander Jace Koa, sent me here to investigate some odd happenings. I don't want to preempt anything from you, but... have you seen anything weird on this station at all in the last few months? Anything that didn't seem or feel right? Anything that made you feel uncomfortable?"

Mooki ducked behind her sleeves, her heart thumping in her chest so loud she could barely make out what he was saying. The czarite in the lab shuddered to the front of her mind. The sound of that pump. Scyler's venomous tongue... But before she could stew in her own anxiety for any length of time, the dragon's bassy voice continued softly.

"Hey, don't sweat it! I -"

"I... I-I don't know!" She interrupted, shaking in her seat. "I si-signed an NDA when I arrived, and -

"- An NDA? Oh, the non-disclosure agreement thing? Miss Rye, I can fully assure you it is entirely legal to report any concerns you've got to the RMD, irrespective of any NDA you might have signed. Those things are only to stop you spilling division tech or knowhow, not to stop you reporting crimes..."

Mooki continued to shake in her chair, burying her face in her sleeves and shielding her body with her wings.

"Look, I can see you're nervous, it's okay, there's no rush, or pressure. Let me give you mine and Commander Koa's C-Add, and you can message us if you want to? Just make sure you message us from your personal C-Add and through the sector relay, not the station relay, okay? If there was anything here that made you feel uncomfortable, pop it over to Commander Koa and I promise, we'll sort it out."

Mooki suddenly reached out and threw her arms around Theo. There was a brief flicker of confusion and surprise on his face, but it quickly faded away, and was replaced by a strong smile. He slowly returned the hug as Mooki sniffled loudly into his shoulder, her curly, sugar brown hair tickling his neck.

"I-I'll think about it!" She shuddered in his grasp, fighting back tears.

"Remember, no pressure alright? I'm not here to get you in trouble, just to fix problems."

"O-okay..."

"Are you going to be safe here? Do you need me to escort you off the station?"

"N-no. I'm safe..." She took a deep breath and nodded gently. "T-thank you for sorting my office out."

"Alright. As long as you're sure." Slowly, Theo pulled away from her and she dried her face with her top, her frantic heartbeat slowing down as she felt the fog clear from her brain a little bit, the weight on her shoulders lifting by just a smidgen.

"Look, I gotta run, I used up the last of my time down here, but remember what I said. If anything comes to mind, just give Jace a message, or if you need more immediate assistance, message me and I'll get my leathery ass down here in a jiffy, alright?"

"Okay. Thank you again!" She rubbed her eyes and nodded as Theo turned to leave, giving her a friendly wave goodbye as he stomped down the corridor. She watched until he had disappeared up the stairs, smiling warmly as his mechanical tail scraped against the floor.

Gently, she wheeled her chair back into the room, flinching for a second as she braced to hit a shelf. The room was still small, but she had some space now! The knot in her stomach began to undo, but regret immediately filled the void. Now alone, the last weirdly fun couple of hours were fading away, and that bubbly feeling in her chest subsided, leaving her kicking herself.

I should have told him about the girl!

But that didn't make sense in the first place. She paused and pondered deeply, spinning slowly in the chair.

Why didn't Theo find the girl?! She was here, I saw her only two days ago! E-15! Mooki was absolutely sure. The knot in her stomach intensified as the pieces of the puzzle fit together.

They must have hid her! I know it! Evangeline was fobbing me off! She isn't going to do anything about it at all!

She pondered chasing after him, like a scene out of a movie. Calling out to him desperately just as he was leaving the station... She shrunk in her chair, there was no way she had the confidence to do that, in front of everyone. She felt silly for even thinking about it.

Remembering Theo's advice though, she pulled her personal communicator out from her pocket with a serious look in her eyes and swiped through the settings, ensuring she was connected to the solar sector's relay, rather than the stations, and began to type out her thoughts. A cocktail of competing feelings bubbled through her quivering hands as the message took form.

"I'm really doing this... I'm snitching on my boss and my colleagues... Yes. I'm doing this. If Theo didn't find her, they must be hiding her. And they wouldn't hide her unless they knew they were doing something wrong. I'm sure of it."

Dear Commander Koa,

I was given your details by Officer Theo Kintrax.

I have information regarding what I believe to be an illegal activity within my workplace in the XITD.

I witnessed a live czarite being tortured within the facility...

*

Mooki sat within her dormitory, bobbing her leg up and down at her personal computer as she watched the clock tick by. Every minute passed painfully slowly; she didn't even really know what she was waiting for.

Most of the XITD's staff, including her, had long retired for the night, taking the auto-shuttles back to the orbiting dorm-barges that surrounded the station. Although not invited, she knew there was a large party happening on the second ship. From what she'd gathered, it was a celebration after a successful inspection. She couldn't help but wonder if her lack of invite was due to her actions just a couple of days prior, or if... it was due to her actions today?

No, she had followed Theo's instructions, using her personal C-Add and the sector's relay, so it wouldn't go through XITD infrastructure. Commander Koa must be busy, I imagine he gets thousands of messages a day. She thought.

Not being invited to the party stung at first. But the more she thought about it, the more she was glad she wasn't there. A sickening feeling crawled up her legs and into her chest.

What if she had never discovered the girl in the lab? She could have been partying in that ship right now, with no idea why everyone was so happy. She shuddered and turned away from her screen, gazing out the small window in her cabin, her vision landing on the XITD station in all its glory.

Or... maybe she was wrong?

The dorm ships would orbit the station much faster than it would spin naturally, allowing a good view of all of its sides over the course of the day. She had a deep admiration of the engineering prowess that went into these facilities. It was a fascination she'd had since she was a child.

She sighed loudly and reached for the cup of cocoa on her desk, sipping it quietly as she mulled over the day.

E-labs were ejectable, often used for dangerous experiments or high risk subjects so that in the event of an emergency, that could just be ejected, usually containing the problem on the spot without compromising the whole station. The ones on this station had engines built into them, allowing for remote piloting and control, usually between different stations. It wasn't uncommon for XITD stations to swap labs to continue experiments, and get an alternative station's viewpoint on a theory.

Suddenly, she felt a cold shiver up her spine and leaned forward in her seat. An object was docking at the station, on its cargo bay side.

She scrambled closer to the window, dropping her mug on the floor and kneeling on her bed, pressing her nose up to the window.

E-15.

Clear as day, in bright white writing on the side of the vessel. It was docking. That was the lab, she knew it!

They must have ejected it whilst Theo was on the station! Falsified the lab details so it looked routine! That's why he couldn't find her! That lab has been docked for months and suddenly it's off site, today of all days?!

She watched the lab closely as it finished its docking procedure on the far side of the station. The cargo bay was low security clearance as opposed to the E-lab's usual docking spot, which needed much higher clearance to access most of the time.

As the blood rushed through her face, a sudden noise made her jump out of her skin.

Her laptop cheeped in the background; one new message.

She stumbled over to her desk, stepping in the chocolatey puddle on the floor and half-collapsing into her chair.

It was a message from Commander Jace Koa.

Dear Miss Rye,

Thank you for your message. However, as my officer has just conducted a search of your station, it will be difficult to take any further action, as his lack of success will weigh against us. Can you get me proof of the treatment you've described?

If so, I will see you removed from the station, and ensure your future prospers at another facility.

Hope you're keeping well.

Commander koa.

Mooki glanced back out the window, at the docked lab.

She could access the cargo bay. She knew it.

If I can just snap a picture of her, they won't be able to deny her existence any more! I can fix all of this!

Her heart felt like it was being pulled in two. Part of her believed she could do this, that she should do this. But another part of her felt like this was just a terrible, awful idea, that she should just keep her head down, get her module completed and just leave.

Despite her internal battle, she pulled her work clothes back on, slipping her communicator into her pocket, and grabbing a thermal flask of hot chocolate to go.

I-I shouldn't be long. Just need a picture, and then I can go back to my dorm... If a guard asks why I'm out, I'm just working. Just... finishing a material report. I - I have authorization to be in the cargo bay! I shouldn't need to prove anything!

Once suitably dressed, she departed from her dorm and made her way back to the ever-waiting shuttles that ferried staff between the station and dorm ships. On her way there, she passed by one of the larger, shared dormitories, and could hear the dull but loud booming of music coming from inside. There was laughter and cheering, as several shadows flickered underneath the light of the dormitory door.

That could be us... That could still be us...

But her legs walked on, and suddenly she was sitting on the hard leather of the shuttle's seats, clutching her flask tightly. Its warmth in her hands was the closest thing she had to moral support.

Alone, the shuttle took her right to the midsection of the station, just like it always did. As she arrived, the guard at the shuttle station waved to her casually but didn't approach, happy for her to go about her business.

Good...! They have no reason to suspect I'm up to anything... I've come into work at these hours before! Just.. Just be normal Mooki! Be normal!

The station did not look any different, but that odd feeling of being in work outside of official work hours was unsettling. The lack of familiar faces, the darkened offices and corridors... It was startling how eerie and different a place could look with just a change in the lighting.

As calmly as she could, she headed towards the cargo bay, and to her relief, the walk was entirely uneventful. There were rarely guards down here anyway, but the cargo bay was completely devoid of staff tonight and was mostly dark, with only some white downlights against the walls to add a limited visibility. The cargo bay was a gigantic open space, with some huge green crates on the far side and some palettes of plastic-wrapped equipment in the middle of the room. Opposite the huge vehicular entrance she came in through however, was the airlocks to the docking drones.

Oh dammit! I can't remember where it docked! It has to be one of these three!

Cautiously, she made her way across the smooth, grey flooring of the bay and stared at the three airlocks in front of her. They were identical from the outside, with no markings or signage.

Wait, I lost sight of it as it docked, so it couldn't be the one on the left; I could see that one from my dorm!

She fanned her forehead and went towards the one in the centre first, pressing her keycard against the reader and holding her breath as the doors creaked, then pulled open with a frighteningly loud hiss. In a panic she spun around, and waited for someone to appear.

But no one came.

The bay remained empty and quiet.

Clutching onto her flask, she peeped into the airlock, standing on her tip-toes as her wings curled up behind her to better balance her stance.

Wrong one. This container held nothing of interest. Just more palettes of plastic wrapped boxes, some racks of weapons, a few lockers.

She swallowed loudly and nodded to herself, tapping her card to close the airlock and shuffling over nervously to the final airlock.

Repeating the process, her toes curling in her shoes, the doors hissed open. Her breath was suddenly still, and her wings weighted like stone on her back.

Through the darkness, two orbs of bright plasma blue were visible, looking at the open door in confusion.

There she is! I've found her!!!

As Mooki reached for her communicator, she suddenly locked eyes with Plasia. The two of them stared at each-other, a strange mix of feelings coursing through them both. It was difficult to see into the lab, but the czarite still seemed to be strung up. There were several small, faint, silver glimmers running in a line down the length of her body.

I'm going to get you out of here!

Mooki's hands were quaking, making her fumble for her communicator even more clumsy. She missed her pocket several times, and finally she needed to look down at her lab coat to find the break in the fabric, but eventually she managed to pull the device free, and hold it out in front of her.

She looked at Plasia's eyes again as she crept closer to the entrance of the airlock, trying to ensure her picture would be of good enough quality in the gloom. Two blurry blue blobs would be proof of nothing, after all.

She raised the device up to her face and tapped the screen as calmly as she could, trying to adjust the resolution of the shot. Finally she managed to get the camera to focus, and her eyes drifted back towards the lab. But, as she glanced over at Plasia, she noticed Plasia's eyes drift, ever, ever so slightly...

Before she could turn, something firm hit her in the back and Mooki stumbled forward, collapsing into the darkness of the lab, her flask clattered to the floor and spilled walm cocoa as the lid popped off.

"Ooof! Hey! Who was that?!" She called out, picking herself up off the floor just as the doors closed behind her, immediately cutting off the faint light of the cargo bay that had helped to illuminate the lab.

Mooki stumbled to her feet and quickly backed up towards the door. She stared at the captive czarite in the middle of the room, blinking desperately as she tried to adjust her eyesight to the sudden darkness. Plasia stared back intently. She seemed just as confused and afraid as Mooki.