Xant watched as the colours on the dataslate exploded. Krydon, Pa, Nu and himself were transfixed on the single screen of the dataslate.

Both hemispheres lit up independently, a surge of activity in the frontal lobes the likes of which began to trigger warning signals on the dataslate.

"Military grade activity..." Krydon mumbled under his breath and brought out his dataslate, comparing and taking notes. Pa's head turned away as her own dataslate began to beep loudly.

"What is it?" Nu asked.

"DH Dr. Duuarn’s physical notifier is going off..." Her voice began to rise in panic. "He’s going through VEFS!"

Immediately fear leapt to the front of Xant's thoughts.

Duuarn, Jasmine, the dogs... Duuarn was not graced with any sort of tact, and Jasmine was long past her rest period. He began to make his way down the hall, only to have Arc and Suk fly around the corner. They dropped from their flight and landed in front of the med wing with the convulsing Duuarn in their arms.

Pa shrieked.

"Dr. Kyrdon!" Suk called trying to hold the twisting Qzetillian in his arms. "The doctor needs attention now!"

“Second stage VEFS,” Krydon growled under his breath before shouting orders. "Strip him down and get him to the pod, stat!" He stormed through the med bays doors, shouting at his assistants.

"Pa, ready 2 doses of [#0018f] and [#006bfa]! Nu, wire Duuarn into the pod, and you!" he pointed to Arc, "Hold the doctor down to the mattress!"

Xant watched as the excitement unfolded around him. He followed in after but knew he wouldn't be of much help. His reaction times were still recovering from the last dose of depressors in his system. Duuarn was about to have double that pumped into his rather fragile body.

It was a sickening sight.

Uncontrolled and unnatural reactions twisted and pulled Duuarn’s limbs in conflicting directions. His mouth contorted open past what was reasonable, his black eyes opened just as wide, you could almost see the veins behind the lids.

Duuarn’s nerves were dying.

Suk reached for his segment sword, turning the blade dial to the height of a small knife. He sliced open the costly jacket and under-suit, tearing it from the doctor's body.

Duuarn was an expensive genebuild, mostly sewn from top quality Creator genes. Organs designed for efficiency and durability, body sculpted to be aesthetically pleasing for the Qzetillain elite and a personality perfectly catered to the ruthless environment of government work.

His benefactor never saw fit to install him with any sort of Freq resistance abilities. Beings such as Duuarn were never intended to come into contact with such brute forces. They were expected to climb the ladder in a perfectly controlled environment.

His substance abuse didn't help his condition either, which was slowly deteriorating.

Suk placed Duuarn’s naked grey body onto the medical pod, holding him down as Pa administered the sedatives, her own hands shaking with shock. This was her first second-stage freq-aggression victim.

The sedatives flowed through his veins, cooling the burnt nerves and stabilising affected organs.

Duuarn's body finally settled enough for Nu to insert the needles, hooking up his nervous system for analysis. Krydon shoved Suk out of the way as the computer began spewing out one condition after another. Krydon watched over his assistants, readying the anti-inflammatories and stim-repair solutions needed to ensure Duuarn’s survival.

Arc and Suk stood back in silence, they weren't even qualified to be in the room.

Xant could feel his own heart beating in his chest. How close had he been to becoming like Duuarn? Would Jasmine do the same to him if he angered her?

Duuarn was not the most pleasant of people, but even he did not deserve this.

Comms beeped in unison.

Suk answered. "Yes, Captain?"

"Suk, Arc, return to security now." Rynard's voice was clear enough that Xant saw the guard stiffen, either out of respect or fear.

"Yessir, understood."

The twins step marched out of the medical wing, and not a second later, Xant's comms activated.

CPT Rynard: Dr. Xant?

Dr Xant: Yes Captain?

CPT Rynard: I'm afraid to tell ya Jasi will need to be kept in Security until further notice. I'll need you to head down to Security before Isk notifies a lock down, she’s your project after all.

Dr Xant: I understand... is she unharmed?

CPT Rynard: She's moving about alright, but that could be the suit’s pain management kicking in. We need to figure out what to do next. I ain't got the head for this stuff.

Dr Xant: Agreed. I shall be there momentarily

CPT Rynard: Right, make it fast.

[Comms Disconnected]

Rynard closed the comms on his arm mounted slate. Jasmine and the dogs had been waiting there patiently, listening in to his conversations, an unsettling number of eyes staring at him.

"Alright," he instructed, "I've done all the protocol stuff."

"So what happens to us?" Jasmine asked.

"I gotta keep you in the Security training room; it’s the only other wing in the whole facility that's got a Freq containment room."

Jasmine nodded, but her eyes didn't meet his gaze.

"Alright, how long will we be put in containment?"

"Until the big heads talk it out" He answered.

"And how long will that be?"

Rynard shrugged and offered an unhelpful. "I dunno."

Jasmine sighed and rubbed her face.

"There's no bed in the training room." she stated, more to herself than him.

"No...?" Rynard raised his eye ridge confused.

"Okay. (Guess I am sleeping on the floor then.)" She sighed, defeated, her eyes falling to her new found pack. A small smile tugging the corner of her lips. “(At least I've got pillows.)” Her mind whispered, doing its best to cheer her up. Sigi and Kimiko looked up at Jasmine expectantly, Spades had not taken his eyes off Rynard the entire time and was not about to any time soon.

"Sigi, Kimiko, Spades," Jasmine called their names in turn. "We're going to walk to the Security room. Stay close to me."

The girls barked a "yes!" In unison, but Spades gave a more disgruntled growl.

"Grrrrrr (Taker still here)" he responded. Jasmine knelt down beside him and patted him gently on the top of his head.

"I know, it’s okay boy, he won't hurt us."

Spades' eyes darted between Jasmine and the imposing Rynard; he finally pulled back.

"Whine (At ease.)" he replied but was not yet convinced of Rynard's trustworthiness.

"You’ll have to tell me the way, Rynard." Jasmine said, standing to her feet again and cradled her right arm. "I can't tell left from right in this lab rat maze."

Rynard nodded.

"Down the right corridor, we’ll take the central elevator." Rynard's instructions were brief, to the point. Jasmine nodded and turned away, knots tying themselves tight under her chest. With every step, she felt a growing divide. The more she learned about these aliens, the more worried she became for the future.

"Hey, Rynard..." Jasmine asked as she stood at the entrance of the training room. "Can you dim the lights in the training room?"

"No, why?"

"(Of course you can't) Never mind..." She sighed, taking the step in after the dogs. Sigi was already bouncing around, having remembered the exercise from this morning. It was a wonder she wasn't exhausted. Kimiko, a beautiful strawberry blond Akita, made a beeline for the perimeter of the room, sniffing the floor with determination.

Spades stayed with Jasmine, never more than a meter away from her. He was an older dog, she figured, she could see it around his eyes and mouth. He was a breed of German Shepherd she couldn't quite put her finger on. Rynard closed the door behind her without warning and Spades immediately turned to growl at it, tail up and ears down.

"At ease," Jasmine ordered softly, Spades turned back to her, eyes asking if he had done something wrong.

"Come on boy." she mumbled and made her way to the corner by the door, using the wall to slide down and prop herself up. Spades sat beside her obediently, panting gently. Jasmine reached for his collar. It was made from a military green canvas, with a heavy duty, quick release clip. More than one tag was tied to the collar, she picked up the surprisingly heavy metal and was never happier to see English letters.

"Spades, 155 Mimosa Dr., Winfield LA USA." She read out loud turning the Tag over, "555- 318- 3658, Beau Mathews."

"Whinnnneeee (Beau...)" Spades repeated sadly; Jasmine gave him a reassuring pat on the back.

"Don't worry boy; I'll do my best to get you back home..."

Spades rolled his head; the translator didn't do its job.

She looked over the other tag and had to smirk; it was a rough cut plate, embossed in clear font.

" 'Front toward enemy.' Ha, is this a souvenir spades?" She half-joked.

"Bark! (Yes) Bark bark! (a gift!)" came the reply.

Jasmine sat there stunned for a moment.

"Huh,” she huffed, her mind quick to add “(Are you honestly surprised that an American dog understands English?) No. I'm surprised he understood what souvenir meant." she argued with herself.

Spades tilted his head in confusion.

"Don't worry boy, I'm... Ha, It's just nice having someone who gets my jokes. Aliens aren't ones for understated sarcasm."

Spades put his paw on her lap.

"Whine (Understand) Whimper whine snort (Good, listen Namegiver words)"

Jasmine nodded and rubbed her stinging eyes, all she wanted to do was close them.

"Jesus, you’d think I'd done enough crying for one day," she took a deep breath. "Thank you Spades, Thank you for standing up for me back there, you're a good boy."

"BARK BARK! (THE BEST BOY!)" He barked proudly. Sigi's ears pricked up from the other side of the hall and she came charging over.

"Bark?! (Play?!) Bark bark ruff! (Namegiver, Spades, play?!)"

"Bark?! (Namegiver play?!)"

Jasmine raised her hands and shook her head in defence.

"No, no sorry guys," she ran a hand over her head, "I'm exhausted. I just want to rest, you two play, I'll just lie down here for a bit."

Spades gave a short whine.

"Whine! (Rest)" he nodded his head before trotting over to Sigi. "Ruff! (Play!)"

"Bark bark!(Play! Friend Spades play!)"

Jasmine watched them run off with heavy eyes; too much had happened today. Way too much. The Talk with Laandi, the training with Rynard, meditation with Xant, Perception test with Krydon, talking with Sigi, the argument with the doctor…

Jasmine slumped to her left side, the bruise on her other arm still throbbing. It didn't take long before she found a comfortable spot on the floor.

Anywhere was a bed if you were tired enough.

-*-

Rynard watched as Jasmine slumped over on the empty training room floor.

He tapped on the sensor panel, turning on the Freq barrier and shutting off the mic and receiver. He didn't want to take any chances.

Arc and Suk stumbled into the security office, standing at attention behind their Captain. Arc was too nervous to even do that properly, wings and lower hands twitching.

"Captain?" Suk spoke up, trying to retain a profession calm. "I suppose you'll be wanting a briefing of the situation?"

"What I want and what's going to happen aren't really on the same dataslate are they?" the Captain growled.

"No, they aren't. Sir." Suk lowered his gaze.

"It wasn't my fault!" Arc jumped up suddenly. "We were never trained for that! She's got the power of a Knight Commander!"

"Arc!" Suk scolded, Rynard just folded his arms.

"Look. This is gonna get a lot more complicated before it gets any better," he explained to the pair. "The only thing I KNOW for sure is we're all gonna end up talking about what happened for a looong time. The big heads are gonna wanna go back and forth about what happened, and somehow they'll figure out what to do, then we can go back to being guards. Until then, you two aren't to leave my sight, got it?!"

“Yessir…”

“Yessir…”

"Security office; DH Dr. Xant authorised." The door chimed.

Xant walked in, swaying slightly with every step.

Rynard cleared his throat.

"Dr. Xant." he addressed the doctor, but the doctor did not answer back. Xant shuffled over to the observation window, peering in to see Jasmine and the dogs. He stood there, motionless.

"Did she say anything?" Xant uttered, his tone professional, distant.

"She wanted the dogs with her." Rynard responded, "Oh, and she asked if the lights 'dimmed' or something like that."

Xant nodded.

"Yes, she would have been active for almost 19 hours now,” he reflected, “She needs darkness for her rest quarter." Silence stood between them."Can you turn the lights off?"

"Uhh yeah, I can do that."

"If you would, Captain."

Rynard awkwardly tapped his claw to the designated sensor, and the training room became pitch.

"Thank you, Captain." Xant almost turned his head toward the officer, but his gaze remained on the room beyond the glass. "I believe I owe you an apology."

"Eh?" Rynard blurted out.

"Yes, I confronted you about the recklessness of which you were testing Jasmine's physical capabilities. With the new information that has come to light, I should have sought your referral as soon as I had assessed her Frequency capabilities." With the loss of light the dogs had stopped playing in the dark observation room, and they began to gather around the sleeping human. "I was so enamoured with the Creator Subject, I reasoned away my own cognition and career. I forgot to calculate the risk for others."

"Uhhh," the Captain was confused, looking over his shoulder to his equally confused compatriots. "If we're going to start apologising for things we shoulda done, I'm not exactly Primarch material."

Xant finally faced Rynard.

"I beg your pardon?"

"See, while you were taking your extended rest, Jasi and I were running through some standard operation drills, and well, I was testing her capabilities for a bit. You know, recording some of it, and I didn't feel any threat intent from her."

"Nothing at all?" Xant asked surprised, mostly that the Captain had thought to document an informal session.

"I mean, I could feel she had SOME there, but, to do the sort of damage she did out in the Med hall, you gotta have the intent to do it. When we were sparring, she was holding back.” Rynard’s posture became hard as he recalled the memory “For the most part, she was just... happy."

That answer hurt Xant more than he wanted to admit.

"Jasmine had injured me more than once. I dismissed it as a necessary adjustment to a new species. I can only speculate about the force she inflicted upon Duuarn." Xant stroked his ears.

"Permission to speak Sir?" Suk stepped forward.

"Go on then" Rynard nodded.

"Dr. Xant, when her Grace began her confrontation, Arc and I were compelled to act on her behalf. We felt her disgust, the righteous fury that burned in her chest" He raised this left hands to his centre, laying them upon his chest. "She believed Dr. Duuarn to be almost certainly in the wrong, but she did not want to kill him, only for him to be shamed, humiliated for his actions. If her Grace understood her own strength, I'm sure she would never have acted the way she did."

Rynard snorted.

"You sound like you're ready to swear fealty, Suk."

The guard shook his head.

"A single order is not enough for me to relinquish my oath to the Company, Sir."

"Good, cause I don't want to even think about the protocols right now-"

"You can say without a doubt she had no intent to kill?" Xant interrupted.

"Absolutely," Suk confirmed.

"And you," Xant turned to Arc, who had hoped he had been forgotten. "Did you feel that Jasmine had no intent to kill Dr. Duuarn?"

"I don't even KNOW what I feel any more!" Arc stuttered back, "I just feel kinda... twisted inside. Like everything’s all tight and lumpy." His hands rubbed over his abdomen, before pressing to his chest. "Its awful, how do I make it stop?"

Xant turned to the dark observation room. The dogs had all laid down around the human; Jasmine's head rested on Sigi like a pillow, Kimiko curled at her feet, Spades on watch.

“Have you tried crying?” Xant offered, Arc scoffed at the idea.

“I'm confused, not emotional,” he remarked. “I just wanna, I dunno, stab something I guess?” He looked to his brother for reassurance, but Suk had nothing.

“I need to know exactly what happened,” Xant insisted,”How did the incident occur?”

“Well I was holding the female-” Arc started, but Suk quickly took over.

“Duuarn wanted to arrive at Medical before his scheduled appointment, have the specimens prepared for the Perception tests as soon as they were able. The creatures have been resistant from the beginning, but even more so after the golden one was removed from Duuarn’s care.

We were told to sedate them and then escorted them to Medical. The golden female appeared from nowhere and incited resistance. Duuarn ordered Arc to hold the unruly specimen while the larger female was still in his arms-”

“So I held the beast by the collar,” Arc demonstrated, holding his right arm in the air, “and pinned down the golden.”

Xant's stare became piercing.

“Ah,” Xant exclaimed, “You nearly choked the dog.”

“What?” The guard blinked all six of his eyes at once.

“The throat of both a human and a dog is very vulnerable;” Xant explained raising his hand to stroke his neck, “to impose any force upon it is seen as a malicious act, the windpipe and main arteries are unprotected-”

“You mean we can just hit her throat and she’ll be defenceless?” Arc asked. Xant's ears folded down.

“That is one way to express it I suppose.”

“The counterattack wouldn't be worth it,” Rynard added, “It would have to be a killing blow, or the Freq-bomb that comes after would kill you outright.” Everyone looked at the Captain in horror. “I said she didn't have any intent while we were SPARING. The bomb she let off after I threw her across the hall was enough to knock me down to the knee at close range.” He assured.

“You… Threw her across the hall?!” Xant baulked.

“I removed her from effective range,” Rynard pressed, his posture becoming slightly more imposing. “I did what I needed to ensure the safety of Esaander employees.”

“So, you're saying it is my fault?” Arc piped up again; Suk hissed and pulled his brother back in line.

“YES, the doctor is saying that touching a dog or human’s throat is as bad as aiming for the under-tail or backstabbing a Zenthi.” Suk snarled “You threatened her subordinates, Duuarn couldn't keep his mouth shut, and that's what set her Grace on the path of retribution!”

“Oh…” Arc deflated. “My guts feel worse now.”

Suk shook his head and turned his shoulder to Arc, continuing the explanation for Dr. Xant.

“Arc held down the golden and suspended the red, her Grace saw the action and questioned the doctor. She was not impressed by his answers or treatment of her subordinates. She acted with what I can only assume is a reasonable amount of Freq for her people. Arc and I were compelled to hold the Doctor down as she chastised him. The Captain intervened, and that was the end of the incident.” Suk stood at attention for his closing statement.

“A reasonable amount of Freq? How did you reach that conclusion?” Xant queried.

“It was... natural to her. Instinctive, she lashed out at Duuarn with no hesitation about her conviction.” Suk dared to sneak a glance at his Captain. “She would make an excellent Commander.”

“Better keep that to yourself in the interview,” Rynard advised. “So Doc, did that help any?”

Xant ran his hand over his ears in thought, processing the guard's statement.

“I have an idea of how to proceed, but, this will be escalated beyond our control if Laandi decides to inform Head Quarters or the GCR.”

“And what are the odds of that?”

“Duuarn was an expensive asset, if he is damaged beyond repair Laandi will have no choice but to report it.” Xant reached for his dataslate, opening the list of recorded reports. “If he expires, Jasmine would likely be sent to the closest GCR station for everyone's safety.”

She would be classified as military personnel, and they would never come into contact again. Once again Xant found himself in a position of terrible choices. Did he reveal the extent of his research and almost certainly ensure Jasmine’s classification as a military vassal? Or did he alter the facts to keep her within a station ill equipped to handle her?

Perhaps she was better off with the GCR? She certainly had a quick rapport with Rynard and the Arvas guards. She wore armour like a second skin, and her abilities could have her ranked as high as Knight Commander, but to have her as just a tool of war would be such a waste of potential. Xant's fingers paused on the report list, over their last meditation session. He remembered her fear, the all-encompassing, heart-stopping fear she had revealed to him. If she were a weapon, she would have to face such suffering throughout her extended life.

No.

It was the right of every GC Citizen to live without fear.

He would ensure she attained that right.