Grawreh-of-Rrelren, Alpha of her pack, kept her face carefully neutral as she walked into Chief Kergrth's station with the rest of her den-mates in tow. The message from 'We Who Hunt Between The Spaces' had been brief.

Meet at the station at midday. We will present our findings.

That message had to represent Rgrarshok's capitulation, it simply had to be thus. The Senate team hadn't held any other interrogations or done any other snooping. Instead they'd holed up on board their vessel for half a day, probably trying to come up with a report that put the best spin on things.

Due to all of that, Grawreh knew she'd won. Still, she felt a duty to be magnanimous in victory...at least in public. Rgrarshok would present the 'official' story, there would be no further investigation, and outwardly Grawreh would give them the gravest of thanks for all of their efforts.

But internally she'd be gleeful. And the gigantic captain would know it, which made it even better.

The chief and Grawreh's advocate stood waiting in the front lobby of the station. The pair bowed to the four Dorarizin as they entered.

"{Gentlemen, I thank you for being here as well,}" she said after giving each of them a regal nod. It was best at this point to appear aloof yet welcoming. Welcoming to those who agreed with her, of course.

"{I don't like it,}" said Brsau without any preamble. "{We don't need to be present for this presentation. If they want to make their summary public then they can send it via implant.}"

Grawreh smiled. "{Now, now. They have expended quite a bit of effort to uncover this whole sad affair. Not to mention two of their number nearly died in the pursuit of justice. I say we let them show their hard work publicly while we watch.}"

"{While that is a noble sentiment, this meeting still exposes us to too much risk.}" replied the advocate.

"{What risk? There was a murderer, and now he is dead. Justice is served, even if it will not bring my poor den-mate back to life.}"

The chief straightened up, and there was a strange set to his eyes that gave Grawreh pause. "{We should be going. I've got the auditorium set up.}" He pushed past them and began loping down a nearby hallway.

The Alpha raised an ear at the man's sudden brusque demeanor, but chose not to snap at him for his rudeness. She motioned to her pack and they swept off after Kergrth.

"{Still, you don't need to be present,}" Grawreh muttered to her pack-sister Kergrakh. "{You're still recovering from a serious injury.}"

Kergrakh put a hand on Grawreh's shoulder. "{I need to hear this. It will be good for me to see this to the end.}"

The other pack-sister, Zreshak, piped up from behind them. "{My only regret is that we can't kill Rgratz-of-Arznor again.}"

"{The [Human] did us all a favor, I'd say,}" added Nrgeth-of-Arzerghr. The sole remaining male of the Rrelren pack gave a dark chuckle. "{For someone so small and weak, I'm surprised at how thoroughly he killed Rgratz.}"

"{He's a sapient tool user and therefore by definition dangerous,}" said Zreshak. "{Don't ever forget that, just in case you run into another [Human].}"

Nrgeth snorted. "{Fine, next time I see one of the little bastards I'll step on 'em before they can get any bright ideas. Should be easy, given how slow they move.}"

"{I still say we should've kept them quarantined to their planet,}" said Kergrakh. "{They're too fragile and they have no business being out in the galaxy at large...}"

Grawreh waved her paw to shush them all as the party strode into the auditorium. The 'audience' portion of the room was a sloped floor that led to a low stage at the far end. A closed door at the back of the auditorium was the only other exit from the room. The place felt empty since the only ones present in the audience were the four pack-members, Brsau, and Chief Kergrth.

Upon a low stage at the far end stood Captain Rgrarshok and an equally large red-furred male whom Grawreh didn't recognize. A box sat between them, and Grawreh tilted her head upon seeing it. What was its purpose? It appeared to be an overturned crate. Maybe something was hidden underneath it?

Grawreh seated herself. Whatever the crate was for didn't matter. The investigators had nothing solid other than Rgratz's corpse, a feather, and a few bits of random DNA. If they tried some last-minute trick both she and Brsau had the necessary messages set up and ready to go via implant. Within less than a [week] she'd have a team here to investigate the investigators.

She might go ahead and send the messages anyway even if they went along with her 'suggestion'. Then those clawless bastards could find out how it felt to have someone interrogating them for a change.

Her vengeful musing was interrupted by Rgrarshok's mild and businesslike voice. "{Thank you for coming. We have a few more joining us. [Ta'Stak'qa], if you please?}"

The yellow-feathered officer trotted through the door followed by four other Karnakians that Grawreh didn't recognize. She noted with growing unease that they were wearing armor. The four unknown Karnakians spaced themselves around the seated pack with smooth efficiency. She glanced back and saw Chief Kergrth standing at the door, his bulk acting as an effective barrier.

"{Who are these people?}" asked Brsau as he stood again. "{We were not told they'd be here!}"

"{This case involves several [Karnakians]. It is only right that Chief [Ta'Stak'qa] be present.}"

"{And these others?}"

"{They are associates of the Chief,}" replied Rgrarshok. "{Given the recent killing of a [Karnakian] by one of our species, she thought it was prudent to have a security detail. May we proceed?}"

Brsau looked over at Grawreh with a silent question on his face. She shook her head, and he seated himself again with a barely-audible grumble.

Rgrarshok motioned at the multiple camera drones hovering at the corners of the auditorium's ceiling. "{I'm sure I don't need to tell you that these entire proceedings are being recorded. To summarize...there was and is evidence of Green smuggling originating from this colony, the details of which are known to you all. During the course of our initial investigation a Dorarizin that we were questioning, one Hrzharh-of-Azrehs, was found dead. His pack-mate Kergrakh was seriously injured and nearly died. A sweep of the apartment revealed a feather that was identified as belonging to one Tk'Serk, a Karnakian now under suspicion of Green smuggling. She has subsequently vanished. In spite of a great deal of effort by Chief [Ta'Stak'qa] she remains at large.}"

Rgrarshok bowed to the Karnakian, who gave a quick bow of her own in reply.

The captain continued. "{However, the most likely suspect for the murder is not Tk'Serk. During the investigation, a Dorarizin by the name of Rgratz-of-Arznor attacked two of our team. Fortunately they were not killed, and a subsequent autopsy of...what was left of Rgratz showed significant amounts of Green in his system. We have additional evidence that he was involved in the smuggling ring, as well as hard evidence that he killed another Karnakian named Ti'Etka. Given his murderous behavior, he is the main suspect in Hrzharh's death. Tk'Serk is also most likely dead by his claws, and he planted a feather from her to divert suspicion. However, his Green use got the better of him and he succumbed to a fugue state after an overdose. His death during the attack on my crew brings an end to this whole sad affair.}"

Grawreh let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. It was working, the captain was showing her belly and obeying her demands.

Rgarshok looked down at the Karnakian police chief. "{At least, that's one version of events. What do you think of it?}"

"[It is very tidy,]" replied Ta'Stak'qa. "[But your usage of 'one version' surely implies that there is at least one other?]"

"{There is.}" The captain reached up and touched her ear. "{Hit it, Egwreh.}"

Fear grabbed hold of Grawreh's guts, and she stood. "{What do you mean?}" She looked over at Brsau, hoping that the advocate was quick on the uptake and already sending his messages.

He looked back at her in a panic. "{My implant's not working.}"

Grawreh concentrated as she stared off into space. Her brain gave a mental lurch as the expected feeling of a successful network connection failed to arise. She snarled and extended a claw at the stage.

"{This outrage will not stand!}"

Rgrarshok's voice was still mild. "{Please, contain yourself and be seated. Chief [Ta'Stak'qa] is here as an official and impartial witness to ensure there is no mistreatment of you by myself or my team. We merely wish to present everyone an alternative version of events. This version is one that you will certainly find interesting.}"

Grawreh did not sit down. Instead she glared at the captain. "{Why have you blocked our implants?}"

"{Because I wish you to listen without any distractions. Now, as you may know we have a trainee in our team, and in the spirit of giving him some on-the-job experience I'll have him continue this presentation.}"

The door at the rear of the stage slid open and the little figure of the [Human] trotted out accompanied by the floating metallic sphere of a security drone. He hopped up and stood on the box at center stage as the two Dorarizin stepped off of the stage to join Chief Kergrth at the rear of the auditorium. The chief gave them both a curt nod and walked out of the door, leaving the pair of investigators guarding the entrance.

The human held a curious little metal-and-glass contraption in one hand, one that Grawreh couldn't quite make out. He spun it in his fingers as he smiled at those present.

"[Thank you kindly, Captain. So, where shall we begin?]"

Oscar spun the magnifying glass in his bandaged fingers while ignoring Grawreh's icy stare.

"[What is this nonsense?] she growled. "[You can't trap us here.]"

"Who said anything about trapping? We're only here to brief you on our findings."

"[This is pure nonsense!]" said Brsau as he also stood. "[It's mere theatrics to unsettle us. The captain gave the true version of events, there is no need for another.]"

"Maybe. But Chief Ta'Stak'qa was very interested when I outlined for her another theory about this case. One that she believed should be discussed publicly. You know, in the spirit of ensuring that justice is done."

The advocate waved a dismissive paw. "[Captain, I will be registering a formal complaint about this treatment. It's bad enough you summoned us here, but even worse that you're making us listen to this prattling from your pet.]"

From the rear of the room, Bgrarh bared his fangs in what was clearly not a smile.

Oscar raised a finger. "Ah, ah, ah! Trainee Junior Investigator, if you please. Let's keep things precise. And right now, precisely, you are surrounded by a Karnakian security detail. Both the captain and Bennie are at the rear door and will prevent any attempts to leave. I have Jeeves Junior here in case anybody gets any bright ideas about bum-rushing the stage. Get the picture, Mister Lawyer?"

The advocate gave a reluctant nod.

The human pointed an imperative finger at the much larger lawyer. "Good. So why don't you Sit. Your Fuzzy. Ass. Down."

The two standing Dorarizin seated themselves with ill humor.

"Now, where was I? Oh yes, drugs! Drugs, drugs, drugs, drugs, drugs, drugs. Drugs are the issue. They're the reason we came here. And they're the reason that we didn't understand what was going on until now. See, we were all convinced that the reason Hrzharh died was because of drugs. Initially we thought Tk'Serk killed him to keep him from tattling about her involvement in the Green smuggling. Or that some rival in the drug trade killed Hrzharh to take over the pipeline. Or even that one of his pack-mates found out about the drug dealing and murdered him in anger."

He shook his head. "But that's not it. Hrzharh didn't die because of drugs. It was because of a far older sin than smuggling."

Oscar slid his gaze along the seated pack members, finally stopping at Zreshak's bright green eyes. Those eyes narrowed as he held her gaze.

"Infidelity," said Oscar.

"[What?]" gasped Grawreh.

Zreshak didn't move, didn't blink.

"Come on, that word must translate. Adultery, cheating, stepping out, making The Beast With Two Backs with somebody who isn't one of the pack."

"[You disgusting little ezret!]" yelled Kergrakh. "[How dare you make such accusations of the dead!]"

Zreshak still didn't speak.

Oscar stopped spinning his magnifying glass and kept his eyes locked with hers. "You found out, didn't you? You're brighter than the others. You found out he was using his obvious crime to cover up the non-obvious one. Going out at all hours to meet up with Tk'Serk while claiming it was just to get the latest Green shipment. He started cleaning himself regularly, didn't he? Showering, polishing his claws, and wearing perfume to get rid of any trace of Tk'Serk's scent. He told you and the rest of the pack that it was to remove any evidence of Green. But you didn't buy it, did you?

"I'm guessing you set a camera drone to follow him. Thanks to your day job you're handy with a drone. You knew how to program it to keep out of his sight while he met with Tk'Serk. I can only imagine your fury when you saw the video. An exchange of money for drugs, followed by an exchange of a different sort. Maybe she let him take charge, eh? You Dorarizin females are pretty dominant, and perhaps he wanted to be on top for once. I can picture you watching that video, grinding your fangs in anger while Tk'Serk bends over and lifts her tail, letting Hrzharh grab her hips and-"

"[SILENCE!]" Zreshak was suddenly standing, which earned her a warning blare of sound from Jeeves Jr. She seated herself more slowly, but her relatively small frame now trembled with rage and her bushy tail stuck straight out behind her.

"[I didn't kill him,]" she said in a shaky voice. "[I was with you when he died.]"

Oscar began pacing, pointing one finger towards the ceiling like a lecturing professor. "Yes, and that brings up one of the big questions that's been bugging me about this whole case. This murder was clearly planned well in advance. So why did the murderer do it now? Why take such a huge risk with a Senate investigation team sniffing around? And then I wondered if maybe our presence actually made things easier. Which led to another question. Why did you approach Myra and I in that scent bar? After all, we were investigating your pack for a serious crime.

"You see, I realized that the same reason answered both questions. That reason was me. I'm the new weird thing around here. While I was in the scent bar everybody was looking at me. Therefore they'd all be looking at you as well, giving you an iron-clad alibi for the murder."

Oscar then stared hard at Kergrakh. "And you have a damn good alibi too, don't you? An injury that you couldn't have inflicted on yourself, given by some mysterious intruder."

The Beta didn't respond, she just glowered at him.

"Another thing I noticed in the scent bar is that you and Zreshak weren't exactly friendly with each other. At the time I chalked that up to Zreshak being disgusted with Hrzharh's drug dealing while you were cool with it. But that wasn't the case, was it? Zreshak had just sent you via implant the video of Hrzharh and Tk'Serk going at it. And Zreshak had also given you a nifty little gadget to disable his drone along with a nano-cloned feather. There were also some detailed instructions on what to do. She knew you'd be angry enough to do it."

"[You miserable pervert...]" Kergrakh growled.

"Your tail was fuzzed out when you left the scent bar, something I've never seen in a Doarizin except when Rgratz attacked me and Myra. You were in an state of utter rage, and not because you were using Green or because Nate was bothering you. It was because you'd just found out about Hrzharh's canoodling."

Kergrakh's claws twitched in and out of their sheaths, but she stayed seated.

"Then you went home, zapping cameras as you went in accordance with Zreshak's instructions. And when you arrived, you zapped Hrzharh's drone and smashed in his skull with it. There was no intruder after all. You were the only other one in that apartment."

Brsau twitched as if to stand, then eyed Jeeves Jr. and settled back down. "[She couldn't be! Ask any of the doctors, her wound was not self-inflicted!]"

"Oh it sure was. Ya see, we had a couple of theories on the drones in that apartment. One was that somebody had reprogrammed them to attack Hrzharh and Kergrakh, and the other was that somebody had disabled the drones first and then used 'em as blunt objects. But the truth is that both happened."

He pointed his magnifier at Zreshak. "Like I said, she's handy with drone programming. Zreshak also had direct physical access to Kergrakh's drone. She reprogrammed that drone so that when triggered it would inflict a severe but non-lethal injury on its owner."

The magnifier shifted to Kergrakh. "How did it feel, I wonder? You standing over Hrzharh's cooling corpse, your rage subsiding at last. But then as the rage died, you had the growing and awful realization that you'd have to hurt yourself badly to deflect suspicion. I can picture you rushing around, slipping that feather into the air conditioning vent and then setting up the spilled scent glass as if you'd been waylaid. Then psyching yourself up to speak the trigger-word to your drone that would send you into a coma...if you were lucky."

He now pointed at Grawreh. "Zreshak timed this whole affair very well. Grawreh was already on the way back to the apartment, so Kergrakh was pretty sure she'd be found before she could bleed out and die. But it wasn't a sure thing, no matter how much Zreshak reassured her. Though in the end it worked out. Kergrakh was alive, and no one suspected her."

Oscar grinned with zero mirth at Zreshak. "You'd gotten your vengeance. The adulterer was dead and his paramour was framed for his murder. It was really quite elegant. I suspect you even tipped off Tk'Serk about the feather just so she'd run. It would make her look even more guilty. I'll bet you also have some other manufactured evidence ready to go. Maybe a packet of Green with Tk'Serk's DNA on it plus some of Hrzharh's blood? Such things could be 'discovered' once we'd caught Tk'Serk. Just in the event the case against Tk'Serk needed shoring up."

He dropped the magnifying glass to his side with a sigh. "But then things started to go wrong, didn't they? Tk'Serk didn't just run, she vanished. She's been smuggling Green for a while so I imagine she has set up a few little bolt-holes just in case she feels the heat. Then you received word that we weren't just searching for Tk'Serk, we were taking feathers from random Karnakians. You feared your little nano-fabrication project had been discovered."

Oscar shook his head. "We tried to come up with a plausible cover story for taking those feather samples. But you didn't buy that either. You're simply too smart. So you got together with Kergrakh to puzzle out a solution. And that solution was, once again, me."

He clasped his hands behind his back with a professorial air. "No human in the integration program has died yet. Given what I know of galactic politics, none of the Senate species wants to be the first to have that happen on their watch. Therefore if you put me in danger, or better yet killed me, that would cause enough of a stink to get 'We Who Hunt Between The Spaces' off of your back. But how to get to me? That's when you decided to get rough.

"If we were trying to surreptitiously get in touch with Tk'Serk, her sibling was the most obvious point of contact. There was no time for finesse. You sent out your muscle to beat on poor Ti'Etka until he confessed that we were exchanging notes and where the drop occurred. Rgratz then killed Ti'Etka as per your instructions. You left a note of your own for us. That note couldn't tell me to come alone, that would have much been too obvious. I'd have to be allowed my security detail. So to counter that you gave Rgratz that drone-disabler along with a nice big dose of Green. He was a tough sonofabitch, and you hoped that having him in a berserker rage would make up for me having both a drone and a skilled bodyguard."

Oscar glared at Zreshak. "It nearly worked, and that's the one thing that I won't forgive. You hurt Myra. For that I'm gonna see you nailed to the fucking wall."

Zreshak finally dropped her eyes, but her tail remained fuzzed out behind her.

"In any case, that murder attempt gave you the leverage you needed. After Rgratz was dead, you went and whispered in Grawreh's ear that now was her chance to get some revenge on us annoying cops. She could use me as an excuse to get our team pulled. And so she went to the hospital and delivered her, or rather your, ultimatum. We leave, or she'd call the Senate and let them know what happened to me."

There was a long silence, and then Oscar shrugged.

"Anyway, that's pretty much it."

There was another long silence, broken by Zreshak's derisive snort. Brsau and the other pack members simply sat with stunned expressions, but she looked back up at Oscar with clear defiance in her eyes.

"[You have no proof of any of this. It's just a made-up story.]"

"I'd say that's for Ta'Stak'qa to decide." He looked at the Karnakian sitting off to one side of the stage. "Well ma'am, what do you think?"

The Karnakian fluffed herself out as her crest rose. "[It is certainly an intriguing theory. It does explain everything, but I fear I must agree with the [Dorarizin] in the matter of proof. What physical evidence do you have?]"

"If you'll indulge me, ma'am, I think I'll have a response to that very shortly. Ah, there we are..."

He touched his ear and nodded a few times. After a long pause, he took his finger away with a smile.

"My apologies, everyone. I just received word from Emma and Chief Kergrth. They're in Zreshak's lab right now and examining her nanofabrication facilities. They've been purged of any physical residue of course, and the files are mostly deleted. But they did recover a few file fragments which show that Zreshak was creating synthetic Karnakian DNA in her lab. That's proof that she created that fake feather, which in turn ties her to the murder scene."

Zreshak's tail relaxed back into normalcy. "[I see. So that's it, then?]"

"That's it."

"[You have my congratulations, [Human]. You were right about almost everything. You made two wrong assumptions, however.]"

"I'm always ready to learn. Please, enlighten me."

Zreshak held up an extended claw. "[First, you assume that only myself and Kergrakh are involved. Second...NOW!]"

In one frenzy of motion, the other Dorarizin threw themselves at the security detail in a tornado of motion. Just as Oscar tensed with his pitifully slow reflexes, Jeeves Jr. gave an all-too-familiar squawk and then began to fall. Zreshak became a white streak heading for the stage, barely visible in the human's vision; the captain and Bgrarh were similar streaks but much further away...

The drone hadn't even reached the floor before Oscar found himself hoisted into the air by a white-furred paw clamped around his neck. Zreshak's other arm was clamped tight around his arms and torso in an unbreakable hold as she held him against her chest. He gargled and wriggled in her grasp, which earned him a warning nip on the ear.

"[I HAVE THE [HUMAN]!]" yelled Zreshak. The fighting in the room paused upon her shout, the combatants looking at the stage and then at each other. Bgrarh and Rgarshok stood crouched in mid-sprint halfway between the rear door and the stage, but they stayed rooted to where they were.

"[I'll slice his throat if anyone so much as twitches. Understand?]" She pressed a claw into Oscar's neck, dimpling his flesh.

"[Now where was I?] she purred into his ear. "[Oh, yes. Your second wrong assumption was that we only had the one disabler device. But those were the only two errors you made. Overall, you were quite clever.]"

Oscar gave a pained grunt as she nipped his ear again, this time hard enough to break the skin.

"[But not clever enough.]" She raised her head and addressed the stock-still figures in the room. "[This is what will happen next. My pack and advocate will leave. Leave in a ship which you will provide for us. Otherwise I'll kill the [Human]."

"[You won't get far,]" growled Rgarshok.

Oscar could hear the sneer in Zreshak's voice. "[I'm sorry, did you think we were negotiating? No. The [Human] comes with us as a guarantee of your good behavior.]"

The scientist brought her muzzle close to Oscar's ear again and whispered. "[And perhaps we'll find a use for this 'useless' little [Human]. If nothing else, you'll make for good entertainment when we chase you.]"

Oscar swallowed and tried to speak, but all that came out was a hoarse gasp due to her hold on his neck.

"[You're strangling him!]" yelled Bgrarh. "[Let him breathe!]"

"[Tsk. Such fragile little things.]" But the paw clamped around his throat did relax a little, enough for Oscar to get in a good breath.

"Well Chief, does this count as sufficient evidence?" gasped the human.

Ta'Stak'qa currently lay frozen in the middle of her trying to disembowel Brsau. She looked down at the stock-still advocate, their arms locked in a mutual grapple. The Karnakian looked back up to the stage.

"[I'd say this is as good as a full confession, [Oscar],]" she piped.

"Thought so. Junior, take out the trash."

Zreshak had time for one puzzled "[Eh?]" before the auditorium was filled with a huge metallic 'TWANG' that sounded like someone smacking a taut steel cable with a sledgehammer.

Oscar was suddenly free, but he was also suddenly in the middle of the air with nothing supporting him. He did have enough presence of mind to tuck and roll as he hit the stage, but as he struck earth he knew he'd managed to get another bruise on his backside.

"Well, at least now both of my asscheeks match," he grumbled as he rose to his feet. He looked down at the wriggling and trussed-up figure of Zreshak. Her green eyes blazed with fury, but thanks to the silver ribbon around her muzzle she couldn't speak.

Oscar put his fists on his hips and shook his head as he gazed down on her. "Ya know, threatening to cut my throat is something I might let pass. But thinking I was dumb enough to let the same thing happen twice? That hurts, Zreshak. It cuts deep."

He tapped his chest with his fist as his voice choked up in mock distress. "It gets me right here, it really does."

Grawreh was closer to the stage than either Bgrarh or the captain, and she took advantage of the distraction to fling aside the Karnakian guard she'd been wrestling. She screamed in fury as her gray form blurred towards the stage...

There was another 'TWANG' and that blur became a tumble. Grawreh rolled to a stop at the foot of the stage, struggling uselessly in the silver ribbons which now bound her.

Oscar pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "People, people, people. Can we please keep this civilized? You're all very totally seriously completely exceedingly utterly ridiculously busted. Now behave like nice Dorarizin and let the local cops arrest you...otherwise, Benny and the Captain back there will give y'all a whuppin' to remember."

Bgrarh clenched his huge paws into fists and growled in a voice that came from somewhere in the abyss. The captain folded her arms and gave a growling counterpoint of her own that made the room sound as if a league of hellhounds was approaching.

Faced with the spectre of the two furious and gigantic Dorarizin, the various pack members went limp. The Karnakians began to truss them up with a quick efficiency. Even Brsau didn't so much as mutter a complaint as Ta'Stak'qa bound his paws behind him.

Oscar gave the drone's skin a pat. "Nice shootin', Jeeves Jr. Yer a credit to the family name."

The drone beep-booped in reply.

Bgrarh hopped up onto the stage and grabbed up Oscar, and before the human could protest he shoved his nose into the crook of Oscar's neck and sniffed.

"[You smell uninjured. Are you hurt?]" Bgrarh asked in the midst of his snuffling.

Oscar sputtered and tried to fend off the huge Dorarizin's nuzzling with little effect. "I'm fine! Just a little...ack...bruising, nothing..oof, okay, that's enough!"

Bgrarh set him back down with a grumble, then glared down at Zreshak. "[You threatened my friend. You're lucky I'm a policeman, or I'd let you know exactly how I feel about that.]" He turned to Oscar. "[That was too risky.]"

"It's all right, Benny. We needed to do it. After all, we didn't have any real proof."

Zreshak's eyes widened upon hearing that, and she began wriggling and mumbling into the muzzle on her snout.

Oscar winked at her. "Oh yeah, that whole thing about pulling those file fragments from your lab was purest bullshit. Emma's still here in the station. She was scanning for the signal from your disruptor. We had it narrowed down to a few different frequency ranges, all of which we had Jeeves Jr. here shielded against. She sent a message to the drone the moment she picked up your disruption attempt. An attempt which was witnessed by Chief Kergrth, by the way. Emma's message made the drone act as if disabled. Junior waited for either a code message from me or for you to try and carry me off of the stage."

He shrugged. "You've used me as a pawn in your scheming a couple of times. I figured you couldn't resist the urge to do so once more. And you proved me right."

Zreshak slumped back against the stage floor and stared at the ceiling in utter defeat.

There was a nudge at Oscar's ribs, and he turned to stare into the multiple eyes of Ta'Stak'qa. He must be getting used to being around xenos, because this sudden face-to-face meeting didn't even make him flinch.

"[A very clever ploy, [Oscar]. But I agree with your colleague, it was much too risky for you.]" The Karnakian sounded agitated for the first time that Oscar could remember.

"That's why I couldn't tell you about that part in advance. I knew you'd put the kibosh on it. Anyway, shall we get to the next bit?"

The Karnakian's crest rose in pleasure. "[We shall.]" She turned and addressed the auditorium.

"[Tk'Serk, I know you're tracking the movements of the Dorarizin team. I know you've got access to these camera drones. With these arrests, the threat to you is ended. I promise that if you turn yourself in and give the names of your other Karnakian associates we will show leniency in your sentencing.]"

Ta'Stak'qa darted her head back to face Oscar. "[I wonder how long it will be before she...]"

The door at the rear of the auditorium slid open, and in strode Chief Kergrth with a familiar pearlescent blue Karnakian in tow. Tk'Serk kept her head down and crest flat against her skull in obvious embarrassment.

"[Well look who's decided to grace us with her presence!]" announced the Dorarizin police chief with a very wide and toothy grin.