At a younger and more impressionable age Maria watched with wide-eyed fervor a certain set of movies featuring a dashing archaeologist wearing an iconic hat and whip. That viewing doomed her to yearning for a life of adventure, and among post-Contact humanity there was one sure way to achieve that. But just going into space was not enough for her. She wasn't going to be some glorified go-fer, damn it all. Maria Vargas was heading into the cosmos to be one thing, and that was an archaeologist.

After six years of busting her ass and getting top grades, she'd applied for the Office of Interstellar Harmony's placement program and blown through their placement tests with contemptuous ease. And then, to her delight, she'd found the perfect position with Hrathra'sstah. Even better, Hrathra turned out to be a cool person to work for and not an egotistical asshole to her help. The next five years of travelling the galaxy and seeing things no human had ever seen still hadn't sated Maria's hunger for adventure.

Until now.

Now she was trapped in the type of adventure where Indy needed to come swinging in through the window and save the day. But there were no windows in here.

She and Hrathra were stuck in some side room deep in this damned temple and she was without her Überduffel or commbead. After they'd found the Claw gone, Hrathra went sprint-slithering out of the room to get Ter'yeik. The second-in-command had come into the Sanctum, taken one look, and called for the two nearest guards. The guards then spirited the two archaeologists into this side-chamber with impressive speed.

The cherry on top of this mound of a shit situation was that she was still only dressed in an increasingly itchy home-made poncho.

"Tllral'snito! Tsnlli'ii'ill'rittta'grlth! Llranrroi'iisni!" yelled Ter'yeik. Now he no longer looked pleased. His white feathers stuck out at odd angles, his fan-like tail projected straight back in anger, and all four of his red eyes were filled with fury. The only thing that kept Maria from curling into a whimpering little ball at the sight of his bared fangs was that Hrathra had placed her long body around Maria like a perimeter fence. The Jornissian crouched her upper torso in between the human and the raptor.

On each side of The Second Claw were the two guards, who now looked utterly scared and adrift. Their roles must had been ceremonial up until now, and it was sinking in that they now had to do something...something which just might involve laying hands on other sapient beings without their consent.

"Ssrrnslnnlsnnsrrrrtprhaaalskfuuunrruutthha!" Hrathra screamed back, pointing to both her streamlined ears and then to Maria's. The message was clear. We can't understand you, asshole!

The furious Karnakian was too frothed with anger to get the point. He bared more of his teeth as his toe-claws tapped menacingly on the marble floor.

"Trril'lrila! LLlll'ttriiseee'rrrt!" This time Ter'yeik's scream was accompanied by a waving gesture towards the two guards. The latter both looked at The Second Claw with clear uneasiness. Maria wondered exactly what the furious raptor had ordered them to do. Strip-search them? Did the asshole think they could hide something like the Claw's case under their robes?

"RRRIITT'TIIL'S!" At that last scream, the two guards looked back at Hrathra with increasing determination.

Maria huddled up next to Hrathra's back, and in response the Jornissian reached back to pat her shoulder in an unspoken message of comfort. Hrathra's other fist clenched with an audible crackle of knuckles.

The human felt her heart try to climb up her throat as one of the guards took a hesitant step towards them. Hrathra was much stronger and faster than any human, but at the end of the day she was just a scholar and not a trained warrior...

A high-pitched and penetrating hiss-scream sounded from somewhere behind the door.

Maria had one brief impression of Hrathra spinning with inhuman agility towards her just before the air was driven from her lungs with an explosive woof. The Jornissian hugged Maria tight to her chest and coiled the rest of her length around them both.

At the same time the thick hardwood door into the room simply evaporated as the red-and-brown battering ram that was now Resh'skk smashed his way into the room with one powerful, springing lunge. Maria felt a small chunk of the door ricochet off of an exposed bit of her scalp; the rest of her was protected from the flying debris by the ball of Hrathra's scaled body.

There was an endless moment of silence, and Hrathra uncoiled herself and immediately began flicking her tongue around Maria while the human wheezed and tried to get her breath back.

"Sreererruuursssrrfruhhuur?" purred Hrathra. Her red eyes gleamed with concern.

"I'm...fine, boss...hoo...just...gotta breathe for a bit...whooo...ohhh holy shit on toast that's not good."

That last statement was due to Maria viewing what was past Hrathra's shoulder. It looked as if someone had made a cat's-cradle using one very pissed-off ex-member of the Jornissian Special Forces instead of twine. In the place of fingers were some Karnakian disciples currently regretting their choices in life. Resh'skk had the tip of his tail wrapped tight around one of the guard's throat, another coil clamped right around the torso and wing-arms of the other, and with both hands squeezed the minimal fluff around Ter'yeik's neck as The Second Claw gurgled in clear distress.

Resh'skk unhinged his jaw right in Ter'yeik's face and emitted a lower-pitched hiss which sounded like live steam escaping from a boiler on the verge of exploding. Ter'yeik looked like he wasn't sure if he should hiss back or crap his own feathers, and the scales on his snout started to turn a very interesting shade of purple...

A single, imperious, and very loud chirp sounded from out in the hallway. Resh'skk closed his mouth and glared out towards the source of that chirp, then very slowly released his captives. The last one released was Ter'yeik, who received another silver-eyed glare from Resh'skk before the Jornissian opened his hands.

The ex-soldier slithered further into the room, keeping himself between the Karnakians and his comrades. The Matriarch high-stepped through the ruined door, looked around at her own wheezing disciples, then turned to Ter'yeik and gave another imperious chirp.

Ter'yeik started with a long trilling explanation that was cut off by a single wave from Ck'Trrk'Ka. She held out her clawed hand in front of him, and after a moment he wilted and opened the pouch at his hip. The Second Claw dropped Maria's commbead into the Matriarch's waiting palm. She gave another 'give-it-here' wave of her wing-arm, and he also handed over the device he'd used to disable Hrathra's implant.

The Matriarch turned back and bowed deeply to Resh'skk before letting forth a long trilling, warbling stream of sound. Resh'skk responded with a single nod, and she took another careful step closer before handing the Jornissian both of the items she'd taken from Ter'yeik. After that, both she and Ter'yeik fell into a screeching conversation that sounded like the prelude to a gang war between parrots.

By now Maria was practically dancing with the desire to get her commbead back. Resh'skk took pity on her and handed her the translator before turning to Hrathra. The human jammed her earpiece in just in time to catch Ter'yeik in mid-rant.

"[?errora?lfr''?error?frrrr'df?how can you be so blind? It's clear that they're agents sent by the Thirty-Fourth Path to steal the Claw!"]"

"[Steal it how? You said yourself they had nothing on them but the rubbings. Have you asked them if you could search them?]"

"[I was about to have Irr''kkts and Tri'rriit search their bodies.]"

The Matriarch's crest flattened back against her skull. "[Without their consent? Are you mad? They can't even communicate! Why not give the [Human] her translator back, at the very least?]"

Ter'yeik wilted a little more, but then rebounded. "[I had no time! They must have the Claw secreted under their robes...]"

Maria decided she'd had enough of being referred to in the third person. "Hey, jackoffs!"

Everyone in the room looked at her in surprise, even the Jornissians. Maria stepped up and over Resh'skk's body then yanked at her hood, causing the rest of her poncho-robe to ride up off of her body. She wadded the itchy thing up into a ball and threw it on the stone floor in front of the Matriarch.

"Go ahead! Have a look through that, and have a look at this!" She spread her arms and turned her now-naked body in a circle. "Get a good long gander at this, you pervs! See anything? I can take a dump on the floor, just in case you think I've got the Claw crammed up my tuckus."

The Matriarch sounded flustered for the first time that Maria could remember. "[That is not necessary, I assure you...]"

Hrathra shrugged and followed suit. Resh'skk gave a little gurgle of surprise as his boss stripped off her 'robe' and tossed it aside as well. He ducked his head away and all but blushed as she gestured to her long green body. "[My assistant may have put it a little more crudely, but she has the right idea. You see? We carry nothing.]"

Ck'Trrk'Ka clicked her teeth together in thought. "[So I see. May I ask you to bide a while longer in our temple? I fear I must contact this Blessing's bishop for guidance in this matter.]"

"[We're not staying in this room. And he is not to be in charge of us.]" Resh'skk motioned with his snout towards Ter'yeik.

The Matriarch held up her hands in a placating manner. "[Of course.]"

Maria raised her hand as well, but this was more to get Ck'Trrk'Ka's attention. "And can we get our clothes at least? That damn robe itches."

The two Karnakian guards were still, well, guarding them. But at least they were in a different room, one that was bigger and had an actual window. And Maria was in a calmer frame of mind as well. She'd been allowed access to her Überduffel long enough to get some proper clothes as well as a stylus and datapad.

To further take her mind off of their predicament, Maria sat and translated various English phrases into ancient Karnakian script. It was slow going; the way the various runes built on each other reminded her a little of ancient Sanskrit, but with a more alien logic behind it all.

She scribed a vertical line of runes onto her datapad while sitting on Hrathra's tail. The Jornissian had offered to be the human's chair, although Maria wondered if Hrathra was doing so to calm Maria or herself more. Given how Hrathra was unconsciously grooming Maria's hair, the human judged it more the latter. The human didn't mind; it just one more thing to keep herself calm.

The alien reached forward and tapped next to one of Maria's written runes. "[This rune's placement indicates a superlative. It needs the cross-bar here.]"

"Oh, yeah. Thanks."

It had taken a lot longer for Resh'skk to calm down. He slithered back and forth along the length of the room, pausing every now and then to give the two guards a healthy dose of stink-eye that they studiously ignored. Resh'skk finally gave up his pacing and coiled up with a huff next to Hrathra. "[They're still blocking the comms on our implants]," he growled. "[I'm giving them until this evening, and then by Sotek-who-circles-the-world I will...]" He glanced over at the guards and dropped his voice. "[Well, I'll try to break out of here and get word to someone. They can't keep us incommunicado.]"

The guards, for their part, acted as if they hadn't heard the implied threat. Maria did feel some sympathy for them; from what she'd gathered, the Matriarch was keeping the theft a secret. That in turn meant that the guards were effectively stuck in here along with the three of them. She'd tried to pronounce their names and eventually gave up and christened them Frick and Frack.

"[I'm sure there will be no need to,]" murmured Hrathra. "[Let's abide a while. There are some perks to being famous, and one of them is that I'm a lot harder to disappear.]"

"[I don't trust them,]" said Resh'skk. "[And I don't like that they threatened you.]"

The archaeologist shrugged. "[Nothing actually happened, and the guards were very reluctant to carry out [Ter'yeik's] order. Don't be too harsh on them. You were a soldier, you know about following orders.]"

"[I also know that illegal orders can be ignored,]" replied Resh'skk. "[But I'll follow your lead. No rough stuff...yet.]"

The two guards at the door looked outside, bowed, and stepped backwards into the room as the Matriarch entered. She gave the three 'guests' another deep bow.

"[Well?]" snapped Resh'skk. Hrathra put a hand on his shoulder, and the big Jornissian subsided.

The Matriarch gave a tired-sounding snort. "[As you can imagine, things have now become even more complicated. This Blessing's bishop also believes that the Thirty-Fourth Path is behind the Claw's theft.]"

Maria looked up from her datapad. "So have you asked the Thirty-Fourth Path?"

"Not...directly. Due to the long enmity between our Paths, their main temple is in another Blessing altogether. Contact between our two Paths must take place through an intermediary. The bishop of their Blessing has asked them, and they deny all knowledge of any theft or plans for such.]"

Ck'Trrk'Ka feathers drooped, and Maria got a sense of just how exhausted the Matriarch was. "[The Holy Diarchy is now involved, since this is a matter between two different Blessings.]"

"Don't you guys have cops?" asked Maria.

"[Pardon?]"

"Um...policemen? Peace officers? Detectives?"

"[Oh, yes! Yes we do, but given how established the Thirty-Third Path is throughout this Blessing it will be difficult to find policemen with no ties to our sect.]"

"Why would that make a difference...oh, I get it. You want to avoid the Thirty-Fourth Path screaming that you're trying to frame them for the theft."

The Matriarch nodded her crest. "[This is a political matter, not just criminal...]" Her crest rose as she stared into the distance. "[Unless...yes, [Maria], that's a wonderful idea! Please wait here, I must contact the Senate!]"

She turned and sprinted out of the room, nearly bowling Frick over in the process.

The two Jornissians looked curiously at Maria, who shrugged. "I guess I'm somehow a genius?"

Certain accommodations have to be made when having different alien species living together. One of them is that everybody poops, but nobody poops in quite the same way. Fortunately the Karnakian toilets were something that Maria could work with, although she had to use them a little like the squat-toilets she'd dealt with while on vacation in Indonesia. Unfortunately she had to be escorted to and from the jakes by Frack.

In the hours since the Matriarch dashed off, they'd gotten whatever they'd asked for in the way of food and water. But it was still clear that the trio was under house arrest.

"Frack still won't let me have my terminal," said Maria as she re-joined her companions.

Hrathra drew herself up taller than the two guards and fixed them with a crimson glare. "[You need to allow my colleague time alone with [Human] media. This requirement is mandated by treaty.]"

Frick gave an apologetic bob of his crest. "[It's out of our control.]"

"[I am sure it is. I am also sure that I'll be making a formal complaint against your organization once this affair is concluded.]"

Hrathra dropped herself back down and settled a hand on Maria's shoulder. "[Are you doing all right? I mean, I don't know if the four hours per day is a minimum requirement or what.]" She blopped her tongue out in a slow, thoughtful motion. "[I really should know that. I apologize for not asking earlier.]"

Maria leaned back against her boss's bulk. "It's okay boss. I'm keeping it together, so far."

That was not entirely a lie. Maria was usually able to ignore the little screeching voice in the back of her skull that kept telling her she was in danger, that she needed to flee. But she was tired and stressed, not to mention in a situation with some real danger. She figured she had about another day or so of being stuck in a room with a bunch of fanged apex predators before her resolve crumbled and she turned into a gibbering mess.

Somehow Hrathra sensed her mood. "[Well I'm a little more nervous than you are. Do you mind if I use you to 'keep myself together', as you put it?]"

"Um, no?"

Hrathra scooped up Maria and set her in her pile of coils before giving her a hug. "[Thanks.]"

Maria smiled, both from the hug and from the way Hrathra made it look like the Jornissian was the one who needed comforting. Her boss was the best.

The next few hours were filled with Rash'skk kept making ever-more-threatening suggestions while Hrathra kept calming him down.

At long last the Matriarch re-entered. She looked even more bedraggled and exhausted, but there was clear triumph in her eyes. "[I did it! I convinced them to send a Senate investigation team.]"

"That's great and all, but when are we getting out of here?" asked Maria.

"[I only ask that you wait here for another two days. Once the Senate team arrives I'll let them decide how to proceed. My guess is they'll sequester you aboard their ship.]"

"[You must be very certain of their trustworthiness,]" said Hrathra.

"[I've been assured that this is their best team. Better yet, they're comprised entirely of [Dorarizin] so there's no question of their neutrality.]"

All the other races were big. It was just a fact of life that humanity had to accept. But there was big, and then there was big. Karnakians were tall, but rangy. Much of their apparent bulk was feathers and fluff. Jornassians massed the most, but their bodies were long and they adjusted their upper body off of the ground so that they could look one in the eye. It was a polite gesture that also hid their true size.

Dorarizin massed less than the average Jornissian, but that smaller mass was compacted into a muscled bipedal package. The dark-green furry alien that followed the Matriarch into their room had massive shoulders, making him look like a werewolf with the build of a gorilla. He wore a close-fitting gray uniform that sported a shoulder patch with a curlicue insignia. The Dorarizin nodded to Frick and Frack with a casual air, then turned to the trio on the other side of the room.

"[Hi. I'm Ngralh-of-Arzgar, Executive Officer of We-Who-Hunt-Between-The-Spaces.]" He smiled at Maria and her companions.

His smile didn't show any teeth which was a good thing for Maria. She was somehow still holding together in spite of multiple days with no alone time, and seeing one more set of huge fangs would have sent her over the edge into Whimpertown.

"[You must be [Maria],]" he added as he nodded to her.

Even as strung out as she was, Maria couldn't pass up the chance to be a smart-ass. She glanced up at each of her two giant companions. "Amazing. How ever did you guess?"

"[I'm an ace detective,]" he replied before giving her a human-style wink. "[Now, before you meet the others on my crew I'm going to have to scent you. Do I have your permission to approach?]"

The fact he was asking instead of ordering made her feel a lot better. She remembered something from her orientation about humans smelling like abandoned pups, and figured this was a work-around. "Yeah, as long as we don't have to do anything weird. It's just a hug, right?"

He nodded, and Maria wondered where he'd picked up human nonverbal cues. She hopped up out of Hrathra's lap and let out a little eep as she was swept up into a furry bear-hug against the Dorarizin's chest.

After a few minutes of semi-humiliating hugging while her feet dangled off of the ground, he set her back down. "[That should be sufficient for the moment.]" He turned and called out into the hallway. "[We're ready, Captain.]"

The tallest Dorarizin that Maria had ever seen squeezed herself into the room, followed by the fidgeting figure of Ter'yeik. The Second Claw promptly got a double-dose of stink-eye both from Maria and Resh'skk, but the Karnakian was far too agitated to notice.

"[Reverend Matriarch, that security drone is a little too high in technology to be allowed this deep into our temple...]" he began.

The Captain's level purple gaze looked down at him with no emotion, and Ter'yeik trailed off. Her eyes then swept over the room, and she nodded with a casual air at Frick and Frack before staring fixedly at the trio on the other side of the room.

"[Greetings. I'm Rgrarshok-of-Ngraz, Captain of the ship Furious Claw of Inquiry. I wish we could meet in better circumstances. Do you need any medical assistance?]"

"[Really, now!]" said the Matriarch with a huff. "[We've been supplying them with food and water and any of their belongings as requested. They haven't told us of any injuries.]" She cocked her head. "[Although the [Human] seems to consume a lot of water for someone her size. Is that normal?]"

Rgrarshok smiled. "[I can say from first-hand experience that it is...]"

Maria Vargas received one of the biggest shocks of her life as a cheerful masculine voice sounded from out in the hallway...a voice that her commbead didn't have to translate.

"Hey guys, comin' through!"

Ter'yeik let out a squawk as something gray and spherical floated into the room and bumped at his tail.

"'Scuse me, dude. Gotta let Jeeves Junior in there first."

The Second Claw spun, clearly ready to unleash a furious tirade upon the human out in the hall. Then he visibly swallowed, looked up, and backed carefully into the room.

The voice didn't lose a speck of its cheerfulness. "Aw, don't mind Myra, she looks like that at everyone. Occupational hazard of bein' a bodyguard."

The gray sphere of a security drone floated into the room followed by a human male wearing the same uniform as the Captain and Ngralh. On Earth he'd be considered a big, broad-shouldered guy. But here, standing next to his Dorarizin comrades, he was much less impressive. His deeply-tanned face split into a big grin as he settled eyes on Maria.

"Awesome, another human crazy enough to stick themselves among a bunch of crazy aliens!" His voice held a faint Southern twang. He looked up at the Matriarch. "Sorry about that ma'am, no offense intended."

Ck'Trrk'Ka's crest rose. "[None taken, little one. I myself sometimes wonder if I'm overseeing a religious order or an insane asylum.]"

The man nodded and marched towards Maria and the Jornissians with his hand out. As he moved the security drone kept itself next to his shoulder. Maria walked forward and automatically stuck out her own hand for the shake, but then paused as another Dorarizin entered.

This female had dark brown fur and was a lot smaller than the Captain, but she held herself with a coiled readiness that somehow got across the message that she could take on anyone in the room and beat them with just her bare paws.

The newcomer's deep blue eyes locked with Maria's. She glanced at Maria's outstretched hand and nodded. The petite woman was very careful with her resulting handshake, even though there was no way she could possibly hurt this guy. He must have outweighed her by a good fifty kilos.

"Oscar Williams," he said, still wearing that sunny smile.

"Maria Vargas."

He nodded back at his bodyguard. "That's Myyreh-of-Relgreh." He managed to get in at least some of the proper clicks into the Dorarizin's name. "Did I get it right?" he called back over his shoulder.

Myyreh shrugged. "[Close enough.]"

Maria dropped Oscar's hand. She crossed her arms and shook her head in mock exasperation. "It figures. I finally run into another human out here and he's just as big as any alien."

Oscar gave a hearty laugh and pointed his thumb back over his shoulder at the Captain, who was looming without even trying. "You can say so, but it's not even close," he said. "So, they treatin' you folks all right?"

At any other time Maria would have found his chipper demeanor annoying. But right now it was just what she needed. She felt the ever-growing ball of tension in her gut start to ease itself apart.

"[We are well, thank you,]" replied Hrathra. "[However, it would be better to be allowed contact with the outside world.]"

Resh'skk just folded his arms, flared his hood, and glowered at the room in general. He and Myyreh glanced at each other, and some kind of unspoken understanding seemed to pass between them. The bodyguard finally gave a respectful nod which Resh'skk returned.

Rgrarshok rubbed her ear. "[Ah, yes. Unfortunately the Senate would like to keep this whole affair quiet for the moment. The [Thirty-Third] Path has agreed to our team investigating this matter, and you may communicate with your families and friends. We only request that you keep any mention of the theft itself strictly secret.]"

Resh'skk opened his mouth, clearly getting ready to give the Captain what-for. Hrathra's interruption was smooth and unobtrusive. "[We will certainly comply with your request,]" she said with deliberate emphasis. "[But I must insist that we are allowed to at least leave this room. My [Human] colleague has not been allowed her four hours of seclusion for several days now. I'm sure the Senate would not want to have that become an issue.]"

The Captain nodded. "[I've proposed to sequester you three on board our ship until the investigation is complete. Our life-support system is already set up to accommodate a [Human], so there won't be any problems in that regard."

Ter'yeik did a double-take, which was all the impressive since he had four eyes. "[What? Matriarch, I must protest!]"

"[It is decided.]" Ck'Trrk'Ka's tone was final.

The Second Claw flapped his arms in distress. "[What is to prevent the [Dorarizin] from simply leaving once these suspects are on board their ship?]"

Before the Matriarch could reply, Rgrarshok grinned at Ter'yeik in a way that showed all of her fangs. "[I have over [three hundred years] of spotless service on my record. While these three seem like nice people, don't dare think I'm going to ruin that record just for their sake. We are here to solve your problem. It will get solved.]" The last sentence was said with the finality of a bank vault door slamming shut.

"[I still wish my protest to be recorded,]" said Ter'yeik, but he looked at the floor while he said it.

Maria liked the sound of getting onto the Dorarizin ship. It would at least get her out of this damned room. "Not to speak for my friends here, but I'm down with the sequestering. Can we get our stuff back?"

Rgrarshok's teeth rippled out and then clicked together in a manner that indicated regret. The way her teeth moved also sent a nice fresh dose of heebie-jeebies down Maria's spine. Her hind-brain yelled at her that the Dorarizin could bite her head off in one chomp.

"[Sadly, your belongings are part of an ongoing investigation. Rest assured we've taken them into custody and will care for them. In the meantime, anything you want will be synthesized on board the Claw.]"

Maria told her hind-brain to get stuffed and pointed an un-amused finger at the captain. "I spent a shitload of money on that duffel bag. I better get it back in pristine condition, along with all the stuff in it. Got it?"

At the entrance chamber to the temple, Maria was brought up short upon seeing the rest of the Senate team. It was a line of Dorarizin of many different colors who had an array of cases and equipment stacked around them. The strangest of them was a huge, brick-red Dorarizin male with the oddest looking facial fur. He'd styled it into protrusions that stuck out from each side of his face sort of like...a handlebar mustache?

Maria's puzzling was interrupted when he and the rest of the team snapped to attention then saluted as the Captain strode into the chamber.

"[We're on, people. I want statements from these three before we take them up to the Claw.]"

Maria expected Oscar to take her statement. But instead she wound up talking to Ngralh, while Hrathra spoke with a dusky-blue Dorarizin named Egwreh-of-Grhraf. Rash'skk made his statement directly to the Captain, who stood with her standard imperturbable expression while the Jornissian slithered back-and-forth in front of her while gesturing wildly. From the look of it Resh'ssk was accusing the Karnakians of everything up to and including double-parking in a handicapped zone.

In the meantime, Oscar just bumbled around the place asking lots of questions about the architecture and in general ingratiating himself with the Matriarch. Ck'Trrk'Ka's flat crest soon rose again with happiness as Oscar praised the workmanship of the carved marble columns on either side of the entrance. Myyreh stood nearby and kept a close eye on the human as he puttered about, her eyes constantly looking for threats and her ears twitching every which way like radar dishes.

After the statements were completed, the Captain gestured for her team's attention. "[There's no injuries, Kgrashak, so we won't need you down here for the moment. Please escort our guests up to the Claw and give them a thorough physical.]"

Ck'Trrk'Ka opened her mouth, and the Captain held up a paw to forestall the coming protest. "[You know and I know that they're uninjured. But if we have it official and on the record that they're uninjured, that will make your life much easier. Understand?]"

The Matriarch gave a reluctant nod of her crest.

Rgrarshok turned to Oscar. "[Is it all right if [Maria] uses your room for her mandated [Human] media time?]"

"Fine by me," he replied. He winked at Maria. "Just don't mess with my stuff too much." Maria almost rolled her eyes at his unchanging smile. Didn't the man realize how serious this all was?

The Dorarizin shuttle was a sleek beetle-shaped craft parked in the boulevard outside the temple. A lot of curious Karnakians goggled at the procession of one human, two Jornissians, the Dorarizin doctor, and a sleepy-looking pilot named Grawfren-of-Delzreg. Maria figured that keeping this whole mess secret was going to be a fool's errand. Already the populace in general must know that something was going on in the temple, and sooner or later word would get out.

The inside of the shuttle was absurdly spacious to Maria, as was typical of her experience since leaving Earth. She appreciated the room to breathe, but she would have happily put up with getting squashed just to get out of that damned temple.

Grawfren took off with casual competence, somehow managing to avoid squashing any too-curious Karnakian. Maria looked out the forward viewscreen and felt that familiar little flutter of awe as the blue sky turned black. That awe started to unravel the ball of tension in her gut.

The Furious Claw of Inquiry was an aggressive-looking wedge of a ship that the aliens probably considered on the smaller side. But to Maria it was just as spread-out as the shuttle. The hangar deck alone was as big as a hockey rink.

Kgrashak's 'medical exam' involved the trio sitting in her sickbay while she sniffed at them in turn. Thankfully they were able to keep their clothes on for that process. The doctor took the longest with Maria.

"[Hmm...yes, you have an older injury on your arm here.]"

"Eh? Oh yeah, I scraped my elbow about a week ago. Reshy's the one who bandaged it for me."

"[Ah. Do you have any pains or aches bothering you? I have a full medical suite tuned for [Humans], so if you have any chronic problems I can take care of them.]"

Maria demurred, and afterwards the three were shown to their...well, it wasn't quite a cell, and it wasn't quite 'their quarters', at least not in her eyes. At least it was furnished and well-lit. They were free to come and go, as long as they kept themselves to certain areas. There were quite a few security drones keeping tabs on them outside of their room, although Kgrashak stressed that such surveillance was more for the team's own records and eventual report more than any suspicion on their part.

"[We're sure that this is just an unfortunate coincidence,]" said the doctor.

Maria wasn't sure if the Dorarizin team really believed that or if they were just putting potential suspects at ease. Either way, as the door slid shut Maria fully relaxed for the first time in what seemed like years. Hrathra'sstah also seemed to lose some tension, but Resh'skk stayed as grumpy as ever.

"[This is ridiculous,]" he huffed. "[There's no possible way we could be involved in the Claw's theft.]"

"[And they just need to make sure of that,]" said Hrathra. She tapped the tip of his tail with hers in a Jornissian calming gesture, then turned to Maria. "[You should go do your mandated four hours. You're a few days behind.]"

Maria hugged herself and rubbed her shoulders. "This is gonna sound nuts, since I've been stuck in a room with you guys for a what feels like forever. But...right now being alone is the last thing I want."

"[That's understandable. Did you wish to sleep?]"

Now that they no longer had Karnakians watching them 24/7, Maria realized just how tired she was from all of the stress. "Yeah. Would you mind...?"

"[Not at all.]"

"Thanks. It's just...you guys are so much comfier than a bed, you know?"

Hrathra made a loose pile of her coils, and Maria clambered carefully into its center.

"[You seem less excited than I expected in encountering another [Human]," said Resh'skk.

Maria was already snuggled on top of Hrathra, and she shrugged as she closed her eyes. "Eh, I dunno. Oscar seems nice enough, but he strikes me as a bit of a idiot."