They continued to sprint while making several turns, and all the while Maria followed Oscar's lead. Her lungs began to burn, and she now regretted not spending more time in the gym when she had the chance. Her initial lead on Oscar dwindled until they were running side-by-side. She could feel herself beginning to fall behind while his stride remained as constant as a metronome.

They passed the occasional archway indicating bulkhead doors, each one of a size and thickness worthy of a bank vault. Just as they passed another set of retracted doors, Maria slowed and stopped. She put her hands on her knees and wheezed. There was still an almighty click-screaming from far off, sounding as if someone had chucked a load of dry bone into a wood-chipper.

Oscar grabbed at her shoulder, then blinked in surprise as she batted away his hand.

"No," she panted. "I can't run as fast or as far as you. I have to go back."

"Screw that noise," replied Oscar. He reached forward with both hands, clearly getting ready to bodily throw her over his shoulder and run.

She held up a pleading hand, which stopped him for the moment. "No, please listen!"

"We don't have time-"

"You've gotta let them know. You need to tell the crew about HARSAK PRIME, otherwise a shitload of people are gonna die. You're better at the running and the sneaking stuff, you can make it out of here. I'll only slow you down."

"That's not true! Look, if you're tired we can hide out somewhere, let you catch your breath..."

The distant biomechanical screaming died away, to be replaced by a growling clicking that reverberated through the hallways. Oscar looked over Maria's shoulder with rising panic in his eyes. "We gotta move."

Maria's breathing slowed as she came to an uncomfortable realization. "You gotta move. If I stay with you, we'll both get caught. Without me, you'll have a chance. Plus if I go back, the Snapes will figure they've got at least one human and split. That way-"

"That way what? You think you can steal back the Claw?" Oscar's eyes were now furious as they bored into hers. "Do you honestly give a shit about that right now?"

Maria's jaw set. "No there's something else. The crew doesn't know about Snape's duplicating shit, they just wanna get us back. So if by some miracle we do both get out of here, the Captain won't wait for us to tell her what's up. She's just gonna grab us and evacuate to keep us safe, right?"

Oscar risked another glance behind her. The growling was still distant but coming ever-closer. "Maybe, so what?"

"So they won't chase after Snape. He'll be long gone, and then he'll turn himself into another goddamned species all by himself. But if I'm with him, the team will chase after him. And if he somehow makes it off of the planet with me as a captive, then the whole Senate will be on his ass. He won't be able to hide."

"That's not true-"

"It is. It's a simple equation. If I'm with him, there will be more urgency to take him down. You see, Muscle Boy, I've had some more time to get comfortable with the idea of dying. Besides, I'm not giving you a choice."

Maria paced backwards a couple of steps until she was on the other side of the archway. On the wall just above her head was a standard control panel, with the same layout as those anywhere else in xeno space. She reached up and slapped its activation area with one hand.

Oscar didn't expect her action and thus was too slow; he only got in a single step towards her before the armored doors slammed with finality in his face.

Maria took another, shuddery breath. Then she turned on her heels with almost military precision and began running back the way she'd come. Her legs instantly complained about having to run again, but she ignored them. She only hoped Oscar wasn't stupid enough to reopen the doors and chase her down. He'd lose too much time, time better spent getting the hell out of here. There were no sounds of pursuit behind her, so she figured he must have made the same calculation.

The growling came closer and closer. When the hackles-raising noise sounded just around a junction in the hallway in front of her, Mara stopped and knelt in the center of the hallway, raising her arms over her head to make sure she was very visible.

Nerlharg came charging around the corner in a galloping run, his claws leaving deep divots in the metal floor of the hallway. With an almighty screech of rending metal he skidded to a stop. Nerlharg's once-ornate robes were now a scorched and smoking wreck, and there were patches of charred fur here and there on his legs and lower torso. His eyes narrowed as he regarded Maria.

"[He left you behind, eh? As a distraction?}" His feet thumped into the floor as he approached her. His head twitched around, looking everywhere as he sniffed suspiciously at the air. "[Where is he hiding?]" There was a creak of tendons stretched taut as he clenched his paws into fists.

Maria was scared out of her mind and didn't try to hide it. "He's gone," she squeaked. "I ditched him. I didn't know about the grenade in his mouth."

Nerlharg stood over her like a tsunami about to come crashing down on her oh-so-fragile head. "[Why did you stay behind? What are you playing at?]"

"Nothing! Your boss made me the same offer he made you. The one about immortality. I want it."

After a very long and dangerous moment, Nerlharg's fists unclenched.

During Sssnnathor's terraforming of 'his' planet, the planners brought in several desert-dwelling species to round out the ecosystem and give a little bit of a 'buffer' between the lush lands at the equator and the more-or-less lifeless expanses towards the poles.

One of those species was a batlike creature the size of a small deer called a 'jnarlth'. Jornissians prized them for their delightfully crunchy bones; apparently that feature made for quite a satisfying 'texture' when swallowed.

Now several jnarlth poked their narrow heads out of various crevices in the harsh, sun-baked earth. They regarded with curious fear the long, smoking trench dug in the soil by the thing that had screamed overhead and driven them all to take shelter.

At the end of that trench was a smooth white shape that steamed with both the heat of reentry and the many, many hits it had taken from orbital defenses. The Furious Claw of Inquiry's punch-dagger shape became exposed as its surrounding icy cocoon melted. For hundreds of meters around the ship, the hard-packed arid soil rapidly turned to mush from the unexpected influx of water.

In the distance, a gleam of sunlight on metal rapidly resolved into a very fast moving shuttlecraft. Like a skipped stone, the craft skimmed right over the new-created mud-flats and as it approached the ship a ramp on the side of the Claw hinged down. The timing was impeccable; as the lip of the ramp squelched into the mud the shuttle sped up the ramp in a silver streak.

The ramp hinged back up and closed.

There was a moment of quiet. A few of the braver jnarlths pulled their angular bodies out of their burrows and cautiously stilt-walked towards the ship.

Those more headstrong creatures dove back for safety as a bright red beam stabbed out of the top of the Claw and hit the ground where the ramp had been. The water in the mud instantly converted to steam, creating a huge billow of white vapor that began to rise into the sky like a beacon. The beam fanned out as it rastered over the ground in front of the ramp. After a minute of firing, the beam shut off. When the steam dissipated, a path of glassy rock was now visible, making a path through the mud.

The jnarlths peeped back out of their hidey-holes, but none of them made a move to actually emerge.

After a few more minutes of quiet, the ramp thumped down again, this time giving out a dull clank as its metal lip met the still-cooling glass of the impromptu roadway.

The same shuttle flew back down the ramp, followed close behind by a low-slung ground vehicle shaped like a brick with the corners cut off. It bounced along on large knobby tires as it kept pace with the shuttlecraft. Two huge armored figures clung to the ground vehicle's roof with a casual air that belied the speed of their 'chariot'.

The pair of vehicles turned and headed off at an angle to the initial approach, aiming for another place near the edge of the desert. Within a few minutes they were just dots on the horizon. As their dust plumes faded into the distance, the jnarlths decided as one that it was a very good time to be somewhere else.

Maria kept her eyes downcast as Nerlharg steered her up a ramp. She glanced up and saw they were in a huge garage; one side of the area consisted of a retractable door. The ramp itself was the entry door to a big vehicle the size of a semi tractor-trailer. Its shape was more like a big cigar slung between two rows of wheels. From the look of those wheels, it was clearly intended for off-road use.

Both Sssnnathors waited at the top of the ramp, and both gave her fanged smiles that did not help the churning in her guts. Was she insane? No, she'd done the right thing. Oscar could move faster without her, and he had to get the word out about Snape's plans. Just as she had to be here, to light a fire under the Senate's ass.

Sssnnathor-1 nodded to Nerlharg. "[I received your report. No sign of the other [human]?]"

"[No, Excellency. Shall I continue the search?]"

"[No time. We'll have to make do with her. Let the other one die stranded on this planet with his comrades.]"

Nerlharg nodded, and with a final push he sent Maria up into the vehicle's cabin. The Dorarizin gave her a faint sneer as he moved forward towards the driver's station.

Maria ignored Nerlharg as she looked around. The vehicle's interior was strictly utilitarian, with pipes lining the walls and harsh lighting everywhere. The pipes were festooned with lots of interesting and unreadable alien symbols. Eight armored guards stood along the cabin walls with an aloof air, four Dorarizin and four Jornissian. In the very back of the vehicle huddled two curled-up figures, one feathered and one furred.

"I thought we were getting on board your ship," she said.

"[No, it's too large and too obvious to store it here or at my main palace,]" replied Sssnnathor-1. "[The [Shrenthhah] is safely hidden in the nearby mountains. About [sixty minutes] of driving and we'll be there.]"

Outside of the panoramic windscreen at the front, Maria saw the retractable wall roll up into the ceiling to reveal a down-sloping ramp. The vehicle surged forward, and as she stumbled Sssnnathor-1 caught her shoulder with ease.

"Thanks," muttered Maria.

Sssnnathor did not withdraw the hand. "[Nerlharg tells me you wish to take me up on my offer,]" he said. "[You are smarter than the bigger [human], I'll give you that.]"

Maria looked up with trepidation at both of the Sssnnathors hovering over her. "I hope so. I do expect you to follow through on your promise, sirs."

Sssnnathor-1 gave a hissing-purr of a laugh. "[You may be assured of that, little one. Let us be clear and honest with each other. I plan to use you as an example to the rest of your species, so that I may recruit more of your fellow [humans] to our holy cause.]"

Maria ducked her head and regarded her bare feet. "In that case, sir, I'll do my best to be a model citizen."

Sssnnathor-2's large, claw-tipped hand settled on her other shoulder. "[I expect no less.]" The hand moved behind her and stroked up the back of her neck, while Sssnnathor-1's hand moved up to brush her cheek.

She did her best to ignore the gratuitous caressing from both hands as she continued speaking. "Excellencies, where do you wish me?"

"[So formal! Heh. Please, go and speak to the two that we've selected from our harem.]" Sssnnathor-1's hand waved languidly towards the rear of the vehicle. At the gesture, the two unclothed forms clenched themselves tighter in abject fear. "[Due to our quick departure, I haven't had the chance to speak to them yet. Please explain to them that they are honored above all in accompanying me. Just the same as you are. Do your best to keep them calm, understand?]"

"Yes. I'll do what I can, Excellency." Maria felt trepidation about how easily she slipped into 'subservient' mode, but she tamped that down as she walked with fake certainty towards the rear of the vehicle. The cabin rocked and swayed as she moved, and out of the panoramic side windows the flat beige landscape of the planet's arid salt-flats rocketed past.

She had an hour until they reached the mountains where Sssnnathor's escape ship waited with patient inevitability. Maria figured she'd spend a few of those precious minutes in calming the two slaves down before re-approaching either Sssnnathor. In addition to being a goad to action for the Senate team, she wanted to see if she could get at least one of the cloning data-chips off of them. She hoped her new slight-of-hand skills were up to the task.

As Maria approached the two huddled masses, the Karnakian was the first to move. Her feathers were the pure white of new paper, and her red eyes fixed on Maria as if seeking validation for her soul.

"[You're a [human]! You look so...]"

"Sparkly, yeah yeah, been there, done that, had the discussion about qualia. Who's he?" Maria pointed at the other, gray-furred figure.

The curled-up Dorarizin stirred and unfolded himself. "[I'm Glgrarh-of...-of-[Sssnnathor].]"

Maria blinked. She was not too familiar with Dorarizin naming conventions, but she knew that his declaration wasn't right. "Oh, come on. You must have a proper clan name!"

Glgrarh tucked his head into himself. "[That is my name now. If I show any signs of disobedience, He will punish me.]" One amber eye peeked out at her from the ball of gray floof. "[If you have any sense, you must do as he says.]"

Maria rubbed her forehead. "I'll take that under advisement." As she spoke, the vehicle rocked again as it thumped over some random desert rock. The petite human stumbled, only to be stopped again in mid-sway by a clawed and feathered arm clamping onto her shoulder. She looked at the Karnakian and patted the 'hand' on her person. "Thanks, Miz...?"

"[N''illl'kan,]" replied the Karnakian. "[Please, you must follow [Glgrarh's] example. Don't antagonize Him at all.]"

"I won't." Maria made a circular gesture that included all three of them. "It's all right, okay? We're okay. We're gonna be fine. He likes you two. That's why you're here."

"[But...why are there two of him now?]" whispered Glgrarh.

"I'll tell you later." Maria caught the briefest glimpse of something gun-metal gray amidst the white floof of N''ill'kan's chest, and Maria pounced at the opportunity to distract the pair. "What's that?" she asked while pointing.

"[This? Oh, this is just some bauble that the Master handed to me and asked me to keep safe.]" N''ill'kan drew the object closer to her chest. "[I can't let you see it. That might invite His wrath.]"

Maria put on her most disarming smile. "Aw, come on. He asked me to introduce myself, get to know you, tell you to chill out. The three of us are gonna be good friends from now on. Surely I can have a look at it?"

"[I suppose...]" The Karnakian glanced up towards the front of the vehicle, where the two Sssnnathors bent low on either side of Nerlharg as he drove. The guards just stared at the three of them with bored nonchalance. N''illl'kan made a furtive gesture, and with the typical blurring speed of a xeno she tossed the object into Maria's hands.

It was a small case which was surprisingly heavy for its size. Maria saw why as she unlatched the top and swung it open. The case's lid and sides were thick metal; this thing was more like a safe than a case.

Within was a very recognizable object, nestled in a foam cutout. With trembling hands Maria set the case down and pulled the object out.

Maria Vargas felt her breath catch in her throat as she felt the weight of the relic in her palms. At the moment it was 'upside-down', showing nothing but smooth polished bone. She regarded the twinkling gems embedded in the claw-root before turning it over to see the angular runes inscribed into its surface.

"[Master asked me what it says,]" said N''ill'kan. "[But it's an ancient script, I can't read it.]"

Maria rubbed a thumb over the inscription. A distant corner of her mind drew a bit of amusement from the fact that such touching by a 'pagan' would have sent both Matriarchs into conniptions. "Well you're in luck there, Nicky. Because I can read this."

N''ill'kan's crest rose, and the fuzzball that was Glgrarh unrolled a little. "[Really?]" they said in unison.

"Yeah. Hang on, let me see..." One part of Maria's brain shrieked at her to stop messing around with this nonsense and work on the problem of getting those data-chips away from the Sssnnathors. Oh, and also work out how to not die in the process.

But the larger, scholarly part of her mind was now presented with an academic puzzle and would not be denied. She sat cross-legged on the metal deck as she held the Claw vertically and read down the runes.

"Okay, superlative here...Something above? Pronoun...this? Yes, this...everything? Okay, got it, this first part is the preamble saying the next part is the most important bit...then it says...something for others?"

She chewed on her lip in deep thought, not noticing how both of the slaves stared at her in silent awe. "Is it...gah, I can't understand this rune...something best? Oh..."

Maria's brain clicked as the proper translation fell into her head. She sat in puzzled silence for a minute or so. This was the big secret of Ta'irr'qc's Last Sutra? This was it?

But then the more Maria thought about it, the more it made sense.

Yes, it was really all that mattered.

The human laughed. "I guess you did have it all figured out, you old buzzard. That is the most important thing."

On impulse Maria hugged the Claw to her chest, hoping that if there was some sort of afterlife then Ta'irrl'qc would feel her affection even through the millennia since his death.

It must have been her imagination, but Maria could swear she felt the faintest ghost-touch on her shoulders and back, as if incorporeal feathered arms reached out and hugged her. There was another almost-there nudge at her scalp as if a great fanged snout, wrinkled with age, nuzzled at the top of her head.

To the end of her days, Maria Vargas swore that she'd also heard a faint voice in her head. The voice was ancient and cracked, yet still clear and resolute.

You'll have to tell them, little one. They don't listen to me any more.

With watery eyes, Maria nodded. She reverently set the Claw back into its safe and latched the lid closed with great emphasis.

N''ill'kan cleared her throat. "[Ah, what did it say?]"

Maria told her.

The Karnakian tilted her head in puzzlement. "[That's it?]"

"That's it. But that's enough." Maria stood and blinked away the tears in her eyes. She stalked towards the two Sssnnathors with new determination in her stride.

The old 'move-through-the-air-vents' ploy is a staple of human action movies...but it's also nonsense. Most HVAC systems have vents you couldn't fit a small child into, let alone Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But that's for human-scale HVAC. When dealing with aliens things get a little more complicated. True, most ducts in an alien building are still far too small to move through, but the sheer scale of xeno architecture meant that at least a few of the main ducts were plenty big enough to admit a human, even one the size of Oscar Williams.

Of course, 'plenty big' is still a relative term.

Oscar wriggled forward like a robe-clad inchworm, his arms stretching out front and trying to help pull himself along the dull gray sheet metal of the duct. He had no sense of where he was, so the first thing he had to do was orient himself. From what he'd seen of Sssnnathor's main palace and city, the bastard liked pyramids. So if this secret lab was also in a pyramid, then if he kept heading up and out he should hit a outside wall.

It was a logical plan, but he'd yet to find anything resembling a damn window.

Oscar froze as he heard clanking footsteps drawing closer. The patrols were now more frequent, but as of yet he'd remained undiscovered. From what he'd seen of the place, it was still under construction. That was probably the only reason he hadn't been caught. If the building's security network was in place he'd have been pinned to the floor before he could take ten steps.

The steps resounded below him, and he wondered if they were using infrared scans. If they were, he hoped that the surrounding metal and concrete was enough to mask his signature. The booted feet stopped below him for a long, heart-pounding moment...and then kept moving.

After the steps faded into the distance, Oscar resumed his wriggling. His current goal was the distant light shining through a vent cover. It had a brighter sheen than the artificial lights elsewhere in the building, so he hoped that meant a nearby window.

Oscar kept moving and ignored the various warning pains from his body. His toes were scraped raw and his knees were all but hamburger from rubbing against sheet metal for what seemed like ages. A few tears in his robe had exposed his back, and he now sported a couple of nice scrapes across one of his lats from errant fasteners. He pushed down the pain and focused on moving. One shoulder forward, then the other, then one hip, then the other...

He pressed his face up against the horizontal slats of the grill and peeped around. Outside the vent was a hallway of polished marble, and from the left spilled a very bright light which indicated sunshine. There wasn't anyone in sight, but his field of view was limited. There could be an entire platoon of guards right below him and he wouldn't know.

Oscar sighed and lowered his head. He pressed the top of his scalp forward into the grill, hoping that the architects of this place had followed the same specs as those used on board the Claw. The vents on board the ship were a simple cover held in place by friction, so a push should be enough to...

The vent popped loose before he expected it, and Oscar lunged forward in panic as the cover dropped towards the hard marble floor. He got one arm free and ignored the painful twang in his shoulder as he grabbed and caught the errant piece of metal before it could clatter onto the floor. He now hung half-out of the vent, with his robe flopped downward to reveal his boxers.

"At least I didn't go commando this morning," he muttered as he gripped the edge of the vent with his other hand. With much painful pushing and shoving he managed to birth his body from the vent and lower himself down without making too much of a racket. As he set the grill against the wall he peered in every direction. His luck held; the hallway stretched away to both sides with no sign of any guards.

Better yet, about ten feet down the corridor to his left was a large picture window. Oscar moved with his head on a swivel as he padded towards it and peeked around its lip.

Beyond the window, the sun beat down on a large expanse of flat white and brown soil. In the distance he could see mountains looming in a range that extended as far as he could see to either side. The hard clay was churned in a double-line extending from below him, near the base of the pyramid. He followed that line and saw far off a small black shape, wreathed in dust kicked up by its passage.

"The Snapes," he muttered. "The bastards are bugging out. With Maria, I'll bet."

He drummed his fingers on the windowsill as he thought. What now? He was oriented, but he had to get in contact with the team. If he was a communications suite, where would he be? Maybe near the top of the pyramid?

Oscar's musing was interrupted by a rumble that shook the floor. He spun and looked around in a panic, wondering if the bastard Sssnnathor had set the place to explode like a proper Bond villain.

A harsh warning klaxon sounded through the corridor, echoing off of the polished marble. From his left, off in the distance, Oscar heard the loud hisses and growl-clicks that passed for alien shouts of alarm. A clattering from that direction indicated that the guards had just gotten a figurative boot up the ass, so he decided that the proper direction of travel was away from them.

Oscar felt fresh adrenaline wash away his various aches and pains as he sprinted off down the corridor to the right. He was near one corner of the pyramid, and the hallway made a left-facing angle he couldn't see around. As he neared the corner, he slowed and peeped around the edge.

An armored Dorarizin chose just that moment to look around. The faceless visor stared at Oscar for only a second before the guard's yell resounded through the hallway. "[HEY!]"

The human didn't waste time in cursing; he flinched back and turned to run...only to see an armored wall of guards fast approaching from the other direction.

"Fuck," he muttered, as he glanced around. There was a vent nearby far up the wall, maybe he could...

Oscar leaped like he was going for a slam-dunk and got his fingers into the vent grill. He used his bodyweight to pull the vent loose as the first Dorarizin came pelting around the corner. Without hesitation he threw the grill at the Dorarizin's head and leaped again...

A whine of engines sounded outside, which caused more shouting among the guards around him. Oscar ignored it all as he gripped the edge of the duct and pulled himself up...

The wall to the outside exploded inward. Oscar felt a chunk of concrete smack into his ass as he shoved himself up and into the duct. This one was a little roomier than the first, and he managed to get his legs up and in while the world outside the duct was filled with lots of screaming and crunching.

He wriggled inward while behind him the sounds of carnage continued. After a few moments the noise abated, but he didn't stop one single bit in his movement. Oscar froze as the duct in front of him suddenly went white-hot along a surgically precise line. The metal in that line dripped and fell away, and he felt the heat from a similar bisecting behind him.

Oscar yelped, then grunted as the maser-cut section of duct fell with a thump into the hard floor beneath. He heard the pained screech of rending metal above him, and flopped over in a panic as he brought his fists up.

Over the peeled-open duct hovered a Dorarizin in a very familiar set of black power armor. Oscar relaxed and grinned. "Hey, honey-babe. Fancy meeting you here. What a stroke of luck, eh?"

The armor's visor hinged up to reveal Myyreh's answering grin. "[Not luck. It's a good thing you monkey-boys have such a unique IR signature.]" Her gauntlets crumpled the torn metal of the duct flat on either side of his head as she bent forward.

"It's among our more attractive featurullmphh..." Oscar's head swum as Myyreh subjected him to a deep, forceful kiss that scoured the inside of his mouth and made him see stars. He lay back in bliss for a moment before his job reasserted himself and he tapped on the side of her helmet to get her attention. She pulled herself away and out of his mouth with reluctance.

Myyreh caressed his scalp with one armor-clad finger. "[So cheeky.]"

"For you, always. Where's the Captain? I gotta tell her what's up."

Captain Rgarshok rubbed her temples with both paws. Why couldn't anything about this moon-cursed mission stay simple? She sighed and regarded [Oscar], who stood at attention before her. "{Right. We've got to split up.}"

She looked up at Resh'skk, who clutched at his maser like it was the only thing keeping him from going completely [ape-shit] on every guard in this compound. "{[Resh'skk], you're with Myyreh on [Maria's] retrieval. Take the ground vehicle, and terminate both [Sssnnathors] with extreme prejudice while you're at it. The rest of us need to figure out how to shut off the planet's defense grid.}"

Resh'skk's stormy face relaxed, and the two armored-up soldiers nodded. They began to walk away...only to have an additional gray-feathered figure step forward to follow them.

"[Tk'rii'na?]" asked Ma'elge'yk in surprise.

There was a fire in Tk'rii'na's eyes as he faced down his Matriarch. "[I must go. I swore a sacred oath to protect the [tiny-chomper]. As Sutra [Ninety-One] states...]"

"[Yes, yes, I know.]" Ma'elge'yk waved an arm towards him. "[Go, then.]"

"{We can't take him,}" said Myyreh. "{He's not armored enough...}"

That fire didn't leave Tk'rii'na's gaze as he stared down Myyreh. "[I can drive.]"

After a moment of mutual staring, Myrreh shrugged her ears. "{Fine. Let's go.}"

"[The rest of you should go too,]" said the Silken Feather. "[I'll take care of the defense grid. [Sssnnathor] must have an override back in his main palace.]"

Rgrarshok stared for a moment at the thief. "{If this is some sort of trick, I really will gut you.}"

The Silken Feather shrugged. "[There's no larger play here. I want to get the [fuck] off of this planet, same as you. Plus the more of you go, the more likely it is that [Maria] gets back safe. Trust me, I can get in there no matter what security he has in place.]"

After a long pause, Rgrashok nodded. "{Grawfren, Egwreh, Kgrashak, [Oscar]. You're with her.}"

"[What do we do?]" asked Ck'Trrk'Ka.

"{You and the other [Karnakians] go with Team...Silken Feather, but once you get to the palace you two Matriarchs and your guards WILL SIT YOUR ASSES IN THE SHUTTLE AND NOT MOVE, DO YOU UNDERSTAND?}"

The Captain's roar reverberated off of the walls. In the very far distance, a group of guards which was cautiously approaching the Senate team's position heard the yell. As a unit they reconsidered their life choices up until that point and decided, without any discussion among themselves, the alien equivalent of 'Fuck This for a Game of Soldiers'.

Many years later, some of them even became upstanding members of galactic society.