Chapter 5: First impressions

Authors note: WARNING this chapter has many of the themes I have described before. Swearing, sexual themes and violence/bodily harm are involved in this chapter. You have been warned.

Anyway, this is the defining chapter which I have been building up to since the beginning point of the story. Hopefully you'll all have as much fun reading this one as I did writing it. Enjoy!

Gantu's face fell in awe when he saw the figure bustle through the door. She was a female! A female Shaelek! He hadn't seen a female of his own species for so long that it seemed rather strange to him to see a member of the opposite sex stand before him. But by god, she was... dare he say, gorgeous. Her body was petit, just like the average female Shaelek was supposed to be. Unfortunately, he had found that many females in his past acquaintance had let themselves go physically, meaning that they were fat and ugly and not very attractive. But this was not the case with the one who stood before him. Her skin was a rich and creamy grey colour, slightly lighter than Gantu's, but a lot smoother and more refined. Her tusks at each side of her head were a lot more curved than his own and hung gracefully on her beautifully shaped head. And when she turned in the direction of Gantu, her eyes... wow! He had never seen anything like it. Most Shaeleks, both males and females, generally had light blue glowing eyes which contrasted against their dark skin. But this one had illuminated striking eyes with the strange colour of purple. It was said that the more rare and exotic members of the Shaelek species had more refined tusks with a particular shape and light purple eyes, but Gantu had never in fact seen one upon living on the planet. Well he hadn't, until now at least. Of course, female Shaeleks did not grow muscle. It was not in their natural body structure. The females of his species were not usually the ones known to fight or be leaders. They were usually the stay-at-home sort who married off early in order to reproduce and start a family. But Gantu somehow doubted that this rare specimen was one of those kinds of females. She reminded him of his ex-girlfriend, Cynta, you know, BEFORE the ugly transformation. But her posture and the way she entered the room was not as elegant and graceful as most of the females. She was obviously a worker here. Her uniform said it all. She wore the standard uniform of the other Shaelek officers but her outfit fitted her body perfectly. The blue outfit with purple lines running down the sides of her shoulders, waist, legs and even down her neck, made her outfit look slightly more appealing on her body than it did on her male colleges. Her shirt sleeves reached just over the top of her shoulders, the skin on her small arms visible and very smooth. And the greyish belt around her slender waist had a purple buckle with a symbol he recognized. It was actually a letter... the Galactic alphabet's letter 'Z'. There was also another symbol of the same colour on her left shoulder, another letter, this time being the letter 'S' in the same language. Gantu had noticed the same symbol on the shoulders of the other police Officers, and guessed that the S stood for Shaelekar since all of those wearing the uniform were working for their police force. But what did her 'Z' shaped belt buckle stand for? That was something Gantu was about to find out.

"Ahh," the Commander smiled watching as the female entered the room. She was carrying charts and other pieces of paperwork in one hand and a cup in the other. Inside her mouth, she balanced some sort of cake between her teeth. Obviously she was just returning from her break.

The female immediately placed her paperwork down on the desk in front of her and took her cake out of her mouth to speak. And when she spoke, her voice was rather soft and feminine but her tone sounded very... professional. "Afternoon Gentlemen," she remarked as she glanced around at the medical Officer and the uneasy Rookie. Both Officers, unexpectedly, stood to attention and placed their hands up as a greeting gesture in response to her salutation. Gantu and Reuben remained unmoved, stood in the far corner of the room with the Commander stood in front of them. The Commander seemed rather at ease when the unknown female entered. And he, unlike the other two Officers, did not stand to attention. The female was completely oblivious to the presence of the Captain and Galley Officer as she did not even glance in their general direction. She proceeded to take a bite out of her cake before speaking again. "Sorry, I'm late," she mouthed through chewing her food "the teleportation tubes are down, again! I had to take the confiscated contraband all the way up to the weapons specialists on the top floor to be analyzed."

"Well," the medical Officer began, pointing over at the jittery Rookie "we haven't been waiting long. Corporal Verin here, arrived just two minutes ago."

The female stepped forward and inspected the Corporal while taking a quick sip of her drink. She smiled at the unnerving newbie and patted him on the shoulder with the side of her cake-occupied hand, careful not to get any of her food down the Officer's clean and tidy uniform. "Welcome to the team Rookie," she began glancing over at the medical Officer before looking back at Verin, "I am told this is your first interrogation?"

"Yes, Chief Zettar," the Corporal stood to attention rather dramatically, much to the amusement of the female Shaelek.

In the corner of the room however, the rejected Captain and his Galley Officer were in bewilderment at the mention of the female being Chief Zettar. This surely wasn't the Officer they had witnessed so skilfully take down several armed convicts earlier. Could it? Though, the feed was in such low quality, the figures could barely be made out. So perhaps it was possible. Gantu had assumed from the very beginning that the Chief was a male! The Grand Councilwoman and the Commander never once mentioned that Chief Zettar was in fact a female Shaelek. This changed things... Gantu was never a sexist sort of guy. Heck, he had as much respect for the female Officers in the Galactic Armada as much as the male ones. But on his planet, very few females got into the police force. And it was in fact a very unlikely thing that they would ever exceed the rank of Corporal. Yet here he was, in the presence of a female Chief! And this was to be his new partner? He was now more unsure of himself. Would he be able to cope with a female of his own species on board the same ship as him? He hadn't spoken to a member of the opposite sex in his species in such a long time. This would potentially make things difficult for him. But just as long as she was a respectable Officer, who treated him with the same amount of respect as she did her Commander here, then there shouldn't be a problem.

Gantu's excessive staring on the female was cut to a quick halt when his right tusk was nudged repeatedly by Reuben. Gantu turned his head and his eyes locked onto his companion. Reuben did not say a word. He just winked at the uneasy Gantu and then gazed back at the unaware female Officer, who in fact was now revealed to be the Chief of security they had heard so much about.

"You know, I don't wish to sound rude here Chief," the medical Officer spoke then pointing down at her cake and cup with a cautious eye " but you're not supposed to eat or drink in here."

The Chief of security rolled her eyes and shook her head and then proceeded to take another bite out of her cake "you know what Officer Orlax?" She began, her tone suddenly rather snide and sarcastic. "You try going 8 hours without a break and do a police pursuit and several arrests while you're at it. And then we'll see if you're not starving by the end of it."

The medical Officer didn't pursue the matter further. He dared not to. He was brave enough to speak out of turn to a higher ranked Officer over something petty as a 'no eat or drink' rule, but only got what he deserved with a sarcastic retort. This response began to show Gantu and Reuben who they were dealing with. Her true character was about to come into the light.

Chief Zettar finally took her last bite of food before proceeding to pick up the documents she had placed down on the desk as soon as she had entered the room. She glanced at them briefly before shoving them in the direction of the medical Officer. "So, what's his medical report like?"

"An unusual sort," Officer Orlax replied briefly looking at the documents before following the Chief's example by looking back at the prisoner through the glass. Gantu followed the gaze of the pair and realized that there was someone in there. DUH! Of course, there was one of the criminals from the pursuit sat in there. Gantu had completely forgotten about it upon the attractive female entering the room. He had watched the Chief with a very curious and admirable eye from afar as she spoke to the medical Officer and the Rookie accompanying her for the interrogation they were about to do. Gantu was still awestruck by her demeanour. She had not looked in his general direction once, let alone introduced herself to him personally. Yet he was already confident that she would be a good additional recruit to his crew. He didn't know what he was so worried about. But as always, he had overreacted about having a new member from his species on his crew. Surely this female would cause him no trouble. She seemed respectable enough. And Gantu's eye for her was also improving his general opinion of her. But of course something at the back of his mind was still weary. Remembering what some people had told him in the past, 'looks can be deceiving'.

"How so?" The Chief continued the conversation with the medical Officer as Gantu was continuously admiring her from afar. The medical Officer looked down at the chart he had in his hand and then gazed back up at his superior with an awkward guise on his face.

"Well, since he was the only conscious member at the crash site, he did receive some medical attention. He has no real injuries and appears unscathed. However, his psychological tests are dramatically different to his physical ones." Officer Orlax paused and lifted a hand to his mouth before coughing awkwardly. The female's brow lifted itself in confusion as she awaited him to continue giving her the report.

"Yes, Officer Orlax?"

"Well, he appears to-" he coughed twice "ahem... have stimulated erotically drawn fixations on his mind." He squinted his eyes in embarrassment at what he just said as his Chief just shook her head "I suspect the crash did something to his mind."

"Or that he is a real big pervert," Zettar frowned through the glass at the prisoner as she placed a hand on her hip. She shook her head with a slightly undesired look fixed itself upon on her pretty face. Obviously she had dealt with this kind of scum before. Gantu wondered how she would approach such a criminal, since she was a member of the opposite sex and all of that. But, by the look of it, she looked very calm and collective about the whole affair. Unlike the unfortunate Rookie who stood nearby, shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. Proceeding to take another quick sip of her drink, she slammed her cup down on the table, alarming the poor Rookie. Her vibrant purple eyes then fixed themselves on Corporal Verin who twitched rather sporadically when he noticed her look at him. "Are you ready for your first interrogation, Corporal?"

"Y-y-yes Chief," he stuttered. She beamed in his direction and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry Rookie," she eased before she began shoving him gently towards the door which led into the interrogation room. "I'll be with you, every step of the way. We'll try letting you ask the questions first, and if he doesn't crack, I'll take a shot at him."

"Y-y-yes ma'am," the Rookie responded before the door shut behind them and they entered the room behind the glass window where the prisoner was situated.

As they left, the Commander grinned and his eyes followed the pair out of the room before his head turned behind and he looked expectantly upon the forgotten Captain. "So..." he smiled, crossing his arms and turning his full body towards the uneasy Captain "what do you think?"

"W-well," Gantu gulped placing a hand on his cheek to caress his skin gently "I was never expecting her to be... a female."

The Commander's smile suddenly faded away and his head turned in confusion at Gantu, rather alarmingly. Gantu watched the expression on Turak change within a split second, and he knew that the Commander had taken offence to this.

"That is not a problem is it?" The Commander questioned "because I do not like sexist Officers in my services you know."

"No, no, no, no!" Gantu jumped in waving his hand erratically in defence "I did not mean it like that. I am not a sexist at all. I have many female Officers in my crew. It's just, the Grand Councilwoman never told me that your Chief was a female. And I had assumed that a person with such a record from our planet would be a male Officer."

The Commander nodded. He understood completely where Gantu was coming from. The females of their species were, unfortunately, not as free minded as the males. The males were able to take whatever career path they wanted, while the females were expected, by society, to marry and have children as soon as they had left their education. That was something which would have happened to Gantu if he had chosen to stay with the Shaelek police force instead of joining the Galactic Armada. He would have probably married Cynta and raised a family with her. And while his mind was rejoicing over the fact he hadn't done that, a feeling at the back of his mind made him regret his decision to leave. In some ways he would have liked to settle down and have a family. But if he had done that, all the action and adventure he had been through in his lifetime would have not existed. Not to mention the fact that he would have never met Reuben if he had stayed to have a normal life on his home planet.

"Yes, Chief Zettar is a remarkable Officer," the Commander finally commented as they watched the door on the other side of the glass window open. Corporal Verin was the first to enter the room with the restricted and bound prisoner before Chief Zettar entered shortly afterwards. "I believe she will adjust to your Galactic Armada ways quite quickly."

The 3 male Shaeleks: Gantu, Turak and Orlax and the tiny genetic experiment Reuben, who was still perched on Gantu's shoulder, watched as the interrogation began. But neither Gantu or Reuben were aware of what was about to happen next...

On the other side of the glass in the interrogation facility, the prisoner only known by the name Oxas, sat at the table casually, even though his hands were bound with an electronic wrist binder and his neck had an explosive chip built-in. Purely for precaution purposes of course. But let's just say, if he were to try and escape, it would take the push of a mere button and KABOOM his head would be blown off. This was a procedure the Shaelek police force did on their prisoners to make them think twice about escaping. And so far, it had proved a big success. But this was one of the many methods of criminal treatment which the Galactic Federation did not look too keenly on. But if it worked on Shaelekar, they would not have the power to stop it. The wrist binders on the prisoner however were exactly identical to the ones they used on Gantu's ship. They sent off an electrical surge with each struggle a convict made. Of course, the gruff tall Shaelek convict would have towered over the small jittery Rookie Officer, who was the first person to enter the room. But luckily for Corporal Verin, the unnaturally muscular thug would remained seated throughout the entire interrogation. Unless he wanted 30,000 volts of electricity to shoot through his wrists.

The younger Corporal had to be shoved into the room by the persistent female at the other side of the door. He was trembling with fear. The typical behaviour of a Rookie in the police force. They were usually taken out of their education only to be forced, usually by their pushy parents, to sign up to the police force, where they would be thrown, head first, into the deep end. The older Officer's, especially anyone above the rank of Lieutenant, would treat any Rookie like scum, in order to wipe away their jittery traits and bring out the fighter in them. Their force did not run on cowardly wimps. It ran on pure strength and the tough natures of each of its members. The Corporal would soon learn this. This was his first interrogation so it was expected to be rough for him. And if he could survive this with his head intact, it may prove as a confidence boost for him for his upcoming professional future.

The prisoner's head raised from the table as an objecting Rookie was shoved into the room before the door slammed behind him. He was carrying paperwork in his jittery hands which he managed to raise up to his face as he stepped closer to the convict. He read a couple of sentences mentally before reading the name of the convict aloud anxiously.

"Prisoner XW121," he pressed the paper close to his face as he read from it. "L-locally known as Oxus. Y-y-you are brought here on the charges of petty theft, severe theft, phys-physical assault, murder and most of all, the dealings of illegal weaponry as well as drugs. I ha-have come here to ask you some questions."

"Hey, hey, watch it kiddo," the convict teased, mocking the young Corporal's age and the way he addressed him. "Don't lose your cool with me. I may just break down and confess everything right here, right now."

"If only we would be so lucky," a voice replied from behind the door. The female Chief finally followed the young Corporal as she entered the room, her stance kept proud and authoritarian. The convict merely sat back and smirked mischievously, obviously giving her the eye as she swiftly entered the room. The young Corporal was a bit overwhelmed and didn't know what to do. Luckily, the Chief was trained for this kind of thing and directed him in every direction.

"Wooooooo hot cakes!" The convict's mouth hung open with a very perverse grin. He was checking her out. She didn't look bothered by this at all, the firm look on her face showed that she was all too familiar with scum like this. "Where have you been all my life?"

The Rookie's shifting eyes watched the Chief pull a chair out at the table and gestured for him to sit down, he hesitantly obliged as she pulled out her own chair and sat down next to him. The Chief grabbed the documents off of the young male Shaelek and placed them down on the table gently. And when she looked up at the sexually-occupied crook, she merely smiled softly as she placed her hands before her.

From behind the glass of the interrogation room, Gantu watched as the Chief merely shook off any sexual comments the criminal was making about her. It amazed him how well she took it. He wondered what she was really thinking inside her head. She was probably cursing every Shaelekean curse word under the star Creblock (the star which was their equivalent to the Earth's Sun). Of course, without the speakers which were set up on the table, the Captain and the rest of the Officers present would not be able to hear what was going on since the glass was sound proof. Reuben's eyes shifted about the room. Officer Orlax, Commander Turak and Gantu all stood in a horizontal line, each with their arms crossed, all eyes glued through the glass on the convict's interrogation.

"They say confession is good for the soul," the Chief said, her voice surprisingly very soothing. "Got anything to say convict?"

"You know what else is good for the soul?" The prisoner merely peered down, eyes now gazing at the direction of the female's breasts. Officer Orlax was right, this guy was a really sexually fixated sort. This could be a problem... yet, at the same time, it could also be an advantage if she went about it correctly. "I like a good pair myself," he gestured, his bound hands making their way across the table. Behind the glass Gantu uneasily held his arms against his chest. He was not about to actually touch her, was he? He certainly had guts. But what was going to happen afterwards? "And you girl," he continued then leaning back again "you, don't disappoint."

She chuckled and placed a hand to her face heartily. What in the Carina Nebula was she doing? Certainly a woman of any species would be uneasy in this situation. Yet her posture was gentle and cool. She was certainly playing his little game to her own advantage. She then gazed over to Corporal Verin, who's head remained low and shaky as he gazed at the table. She nudged him and his head shot up and gazed directly at her. After tilting her head in the direction of the perverted convict, he was urged to start his own questioning.

"Mr. Oxus," he began, his voice never losing that nerved tone "W-where were you taking the stolen contraband?"

The criminal sneered in response. "Kid," he boasted, "you're gonna have to try a lot harder than that."

"Y-you are aware of the charges you're facing, right?" The Corporal stammered, sweat was pouring off of him and he looked like he was about to break down under the strain. "Y-you could be put away for the r-r-rest of y-your life."

"Yeah, yeah," Oxus nodded his head coolly and kept his tone thickly layered with both sarcasm and a sense of a devious nature. He then gazed over at Zettar once again and leant forwards across the table. His blue eyes making eye contact with her dazzling and unusual purple ones. His sharp teeth at the top of his mouth went outwards and daringly touched his bottom lip. His face suddenly looked very playful and pleasing as he completely ignored the younger Rookie and focussed his full attention on the older female. "Say, why don't you say we ditch the kid and do something... 'off the books'?"

Zettar merely sighed and smiled as she leant back in her seat with dignity. She knew at this point that this convict was not going to snap while the jittery newbie was present in the room. They had chosen the wrong sort of convict for his first interrogation. They usually had those big, buff guys who remained firm and aggressive. It was rare that a convict was relaxed and overly sexual with their words. Of course there were some previous convicts who were like that around the female Officer, but the Chief had dealt with them, and she could deal with this one too. But only if she was alone. The Rookie would only get in the way. She saw this as a time for a lesson, not only for the Rookie, but also the convict himself. She gazed over towards Corporal Verin who tensed as she placed a hand on his shaky shoulder. She smiled encouragingly and she spoke with a very relaxing voice.

"Say, Corporal, why don't you go grab yourself a coffee break?" She urged him as she gazed back at the smirking convict and returned his daring expression "I'll take care of things here."

"Y-yes ma'am," the Corporal hastily stood up to leave and departed from the room to join the Commander and the others who were not visible from behind the glass. Zettar watched him go before she slowly and sensually turned her body back towards the convict. His eyes widened teasingly and she placed an elbow on the table and rested her chin on her hand as her grey feminine lips brushed against each other.

"So," she began her voice now very tantalising "I got rid of him."

"I know," the convict also leant forward onto the table. "And you look more gorgeous without the Tommy tag-along in the room."

She arose from her seat slowly and began circling him as his eyes were locked onto key parts of her body throughout. She placed her hands behind her back and spoke to him gently. "Listen," she began, her tone not losing its quirkiness for a moment "I would really love it if you told me what you were intending to do with those weapons."

"I'd love to tell ya babe," he rested back in his chair and tilted his head to one side. "But these wrist band thingies make me feel uncomfortable. I love the whole rough theme you've got going here, but this is a bit too extreme for my tastes."

The Chief paused a moment and momentarily looked away. She stood there indecisively, unsure whether it was wise to do as the convict was requesting. But she figured, if she wanted to play his little game right, it would be wise to do as he said. She would continue doing this for several more minutes before she got him right where she wanted him. Chief Zettar finally turned back towards the criminal and placed her hand in her trouser pocket and picked out a small electronic key. She then placed it inside the lock of the wrist restraints and watched as it automatically unhinged them. She took them off of Oxus and proceeded to place them gently down on the table. And when she turned back to the erotically-fixated convict, he did something which surprised her.

"You know," he began smoothly standing up as he spoke, his hand placing itself on her behind roughly. She almost jumped in surprise as a result of this, but luckily she remained calm and collective. Just a little longer and she would have him right where she wanted him. "I would tell you everything, if you made it worth my while..."

Zettar gazed up at the big muscular Shaelek with a surprised, yet sly, gaze. She moved closer to him, turning so that she now faced him directly. He was beginning to force her closer and closer till they were practically inches away from the other. Behind the glass Reuben's eyes were widened in disgust and horror. This situation was turning too gross for him to handle. Was this the way they interrogated prisoners here? Using their female Officer to woo the ego of the male criminals? That certainly wasn't fair on her. Sure, both Reuben and Gantu knew this was just an act she was playing in order to gain information from the crook. But so far, it was not very successful. All they had gotten out of him was a whole lot of sexual stuff. Nothing relevant to the case at all. Reuben's eyes turned in the direction of Gantu. He studied his face carefully. He had suspected his best friend had a 'thing' for this female just as soon as she stepped in the room. Reuben knew Gantu wasn't really a favourite among the females on his home planet. He had already admitted that he had only one relationship throughout his entire life which didn't end well. But was Gantu's mind becoming like that criminal in the other room? Over one unusual female? He hoped not. But Gantu's expression was surprisingly neutral, just like the other Shaeleks in the room. Commander Turak and Officer Orlax looked surprisingly at ease about the whole situation before them. They stood, hands behind their backs, watching the Chief as she wooed the sexually aggressive dominant male. The Rookie however, watched with horror in his eyes. Obviously he was unaware that this was all an act. His small mind hadn't fathomed it out yet. Corporal Verin felt the urge to speak up to the Commander. Just to ask what was about to happen.

"Commander I-" He was suddenly halted as the Commander shoved a hand up near in the air. He did not wish to be interrupted for what was about to happen. The Commander knew how his interrogations worked, and he did not need a new Officer interrupting the point of climax of their operation.

The female Shaelek grinned as she inched closer to the convict's face. She placed a hand on his rough skinned face and then spoke out slowly "What did you have in mind?" She teased purposely. He inched closer to her face and whispered to her.

"I think you know." He responded, eyes beginning to close as his lips were inches away from her own. She simply smiled and leant back slightly before doing something which blew both Reuben and Gantu's minds away.

The plot twisted faster than a Supernova went BOOM as the muscular convict, who was about to kiss the Chief, was suddenly knocked aggressively back and he flew onto the floor, knocking his head off of the table as he went. The Chief of security punched him! She literally socked the muscular brute before he did anything sexual to her. Gantu's eyes widened to their fullest capacity and his head flew back in surprise.

"Uh, oh, plot twist," Reuben commented as he witnessed the female Chief punch the taller and unnaturally built male Shaelek with a huge amount of force. Her head was now focussed on the floor where the convict was now wiping the blood which gushed down the side of his head from where he had knocked it on the table. Her fist was pumped with aggression and her eyes went from sweet and flirtatious to full on deadly with rage. Gantu had seen nothing like it in his entire life! This Chief was shocking him, more and more.

"Wow," Oxus blinked rapidly as he regained his composure "I never saw that coming." His tone then returned to its flirtatious sounding as he continued "You're one bad girl."

"Tell me where you were taking the weapons!" She demanded, obviously no longer playing his little sexual game. Her mannerisms were the exact opposite to moments before. She was now playing bad cop. And not anything sexually bad either. The fire in her eyes showed him that she was deadly serious.

"Awww come on sweet cheeks, I was just getting-"

She grabbed his tusk before he could finish and belligerently dragged him across the room. He winced in pain as she picked him up and proceeded to spin him around so that his back was now facing her. She grabbed his right arm with such force and pressed him violently against the glass. The pressure soon became unbearable, and he knew now that she was not playing by his rules any more.

"You're pushing my patience convict!" She roared her tiny body pushing him against the glass with such force. No one would have suspected that a woman with such a physique as she had, would have the power to stop and control a convict twice her size in muscle mass. It was his surprise which held him back from getting out of her grip. Well that and the fact that she was now twisting his arm in unnatural directions. "You were dealing illegal arms in that weapons plant, with an unknown associate. WHO WAS HE?!"

The convict dared her threatening tone and smirked. Struggling to turn his head against the glass, his eyes lit up with a fiery glint which taunted her. She tightened her grip on his arm and watched as he struggled to speak. "You won't get me to talk!" He boasted confidently. His flirtatious tone now replaced with a snide one. "Go ahead and threaten me for all you care. I know you don't have the strength to break any of my bones. You're a petty female!"

He had found her breaking point. Gantu watched as the overly raunchy criminal was now taunting her with sexist remarks. Gantu himself had never seen a female Shaelek take on a male like she had just done. Heck, he hadn't ever seen a female pick a fight before in his whole life. The females of his species were always a more gentle kind when compared to the males. It was usually the males who fought over the females. Not the other way round. But here, he was witnessing a female of his own kind challenge a steroid pumped felon who she had already taken down once today but in riot gear. Now she was just in her plain uniform, unarmed and only had her own slim body to challenge him with. She had turned from sweet and kind, to deadly flirtatious, then finally to fem-fatale. Gantu was now unsure if he could put up with her erratic behaviour on board his own ship.

"Don't try me convict!" She warned him, her hand twisting his arm more.

"Argh!" He cried slightly as his overly steroid pumped muscle was beginning to feel the tension of her nerve pressures. "G-go ahead." He managed to stammer. Obviously up for a challenge. " Do it! DO IT! I dare you!"

She swiftly let go of him. Much to the surprise of everyone behind the glass as well as the prisoner himself. He chuckled and grabbed his almost twisted wrist and caressed it gently with his other hand. Oxus merely shook his head and a taunting tut escaped from his mouth. "Should have known," he gazed over at her "you may act like a male Chief, but under all of that tough outer shell, you are merely a dainty, stupid, fem-"

The offender suddenly felt a huge burst of pain from his right wrist. He hadn't turned away and blinked for a split second before the female Officer suddenly came at him with such power that she grabbed his arm again and this time used all of her might to snap it. Behind the glass Reuben cringed and buried his head into Gantu's tusk as he squirmed in disgust at the sight. Gantu on the other hand merely gasped aloud and his arms flew away from his chest to his side.

"SHIT!" The convict blurted, his eyes swelling and tearing up in pain. She instantly let go after snapping his arm and he recoiled in so much pain that he almost fainted on sight. His stinging eyes dared look upon the contorted bone which now stuck out unnaturally from where she had broken it. "ARE YOU FUCKING MAD?!"

"Tell me, who was your contact?!" She demanded, pacing around him, her arms behind her back. "Tell me, or I twist your other arm like a pretzel stick!"

"I-I-I don't know!" He stammered, wincing violently through the violent spasms of pain.

"YOU'RE LYING!" She roared, grabbing his tusk with her arm before she threw the already off-balance convict to the floor harshly. She towered over him, kicking and punching him on the occasion as he was now before her, begging for mercy.

Gantu was speechless. He knew that his species were all authoritarian and serious with the way they treated their prisoners, but this was a very extreme way to go about it. But at the same time, he had done similar things to guys his own size when they defied him. It was in his nature, as it was evident it was also in hers. Their species were extremely aggressive. They had descended from ancient warriors who were born and bred to kill without mercy. Nowadays, it was not that extreme, but the police force enforced a no mercy policy on their prisoners. They were scum who needed to be put back in place. And this Chief was certainly showing this convict who was boss. She had managed to tactfully toy with his inner male dominance and exploit it. This showed true skill. Though Gantu had a slight feeling that she was a bit too aggressive. That would be a problem if she was not kept in check. The Galactic Alliance used different approaches to get information out of prisoners. And if this Chief of security did not follow those approaches, she would certainly not be viewed highly among the Galactic Council. But the Commander had told him that "she will adjust to your Galactic Armada ways quite quickly" So Gantu had nothing to worry about, right?

"I-I SWEAR I DON'T KNOW SHIT! HONEST! LET ME GO!" He squirmed as she pressed one of her sturdy feet on his behind and grabbed his good arm forcefully. She pulled the front end of his body up via his arm so that his back was slowly rising up in the air. Was she really going to do what Gantu thought?

"Tell me where you were taking the weapons or so help me, I will snap your back into TWO SEPERATE PIECES!" The Chief persisted with her violent tone as the squirming convict let out yells and screams of agony as his body was contorted in all different directions.

The convict continued to defy her, much to his own dismemberment. She crouched down and pressed her fingers on the point where his rib cage was. Pressing down harshly, a small cracking sound made its way through the speakers. Reuben shook his head and shuddered. He knew that sound all too well.

"ARGH, BLITZNAK!" Was Oxus' only response. Zettar pressed her fingers down further and continued to pull against his own body mass, his back now beginning to contort like his arm did moments before.

"I'll give you 3 seconds to respond before your back becomes like a packet of uncooked spaghetti!" She shouted, twisting his arm further as she pulled him back gradually "1...2..."

"OK, OK, OK!" He bellowed before she could count to 3 and do any more damage to his physical apparel. "I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING! JUST LET ME GO!"

Her face remained firm and she kept the pressure on the poor prisoner, much to his protest. "Not until you tell me where those weapons were going," she told him. Her foot readjusted itself and she now stopped pulling him back. But she did not ease up for a second. She was finally getting the words she wanted to hear.

"ARGH!" He roared, his eyes clenching tight as he tried to speak up amongst all the pain he was going through "w-w-we were gonna pack all the boxes of weapons and take them to the planet Meltrok!"

"Who's your boss?!" She persisted.

"Honest to Blitznak, I don't know! We were gonna take them to our drop off point on the planet, where one of our associates was gonna take it to the big guy in charge!" The convict finally broke down, he squirmed underneath his challenging interrogator as he tried to break free from her grip. "The guy we were gonna rendezvous with is called Zellious Glornack! We honestly don't know the big guy in charge!"

From behind the glass Gantu froze, his eyes widened and his mouth unhinged rather unnaturally. Speechless was an understatement on how he currently felt. His failures were coming back to haunt him once again. But his entire apparel of disbelief was also left with confusion. These criminals were related to the crimes of Zellious Glornack? The crook who had just escaped his own capture? The purpose of witnessing this interrogation was now clear to him. He wasn't just here to see his new partner's skills in the interrogation room at all. It was also related to the whole affair with these organized crime gangs starting up all over the galaxy. They really were on his home planet... and this Chief was certainly doing her best to take these guys down.

"Where is the rendezvous point?" She asked him, her tone firm but now a lot less aggressive than compared to before.

"East s-side of the main city," he managed to say "we were gonna meet him there in 2 days and lay low for a while. But honest to my mother's grave! We don't know anything else!"

Chief Zettar looked up. She had heard all that she had wanted to hear. Before she let go of the convict she smiled and her aggressive voice now softened back to the way it had before she had turned violent. "There, I told you confession was good for the soul." She took her foot off of the prisoner and released her grip on his arm. He did not bother to get up off of the floor. He was in way too much pain to even attempt such a thing. The Chief then proceeded to hold her thumb in the air towards the window and spoke "that enough of a confession for you Commander Turak?"

Gantu watched on the other side of the glass as the Commander himself picked up the microphone off of the desk and grinned as he responded to her "yes Chief Zettar, you have done well." He placed the microphone back down and she made her way towards the exit. Gantu watched as she strode away confidently away from her broken down opponent. But before she could press the button for the door to open, a voice broke out.

"FUCKING PSYCHOTIC BITCH!" Oxus bellowed through his whines and winces of pain. She turned back around and folded her arms teasingly.

"Sticks and stones may break your bones, but names will not break me," she responded before pressing the button and exiting the room with a sense of pride about her. Moments later, the other door beeped and the same bold figure bustled into the room once more. She clapped both of her hands against the other boldly as she then made her way over to Officer Orlax. He proceeded to pick up his hologram chart and made his way towards the door where the Chief had just entered. "He's all yours Orlax." She told him, her confident grin now visible from the other end of the room where Gantu and Reuben were situated.

"Very good ma'am." The medical Officer responded as he pushed the hologram in her direction "just sign here and I'll go and see to my patient."

Reuben in particular was a lot more unnerved than his taller, more muscled companion. He had witnessed many interrogations but never before had he seen a convict break down (literally) like that. This reminded him of the pro-wrestling matches he watched on TV. But this time it was a female tackling a male. Now he knew why they needed a medical Officer on standby. He had never realized how aggressive Gantu's kind could be. It made him thank Polluxar that Gantu was a big softy underneath his big strong muscles. But he wasn't sure whether he would get away with teasing this new Chief they were about to employ. He liked his bones intact, thank you very much. His head turned in the direction of Gantu. His expression was a mixture of shock, surprise and an uncertain look that Reuben could not make out. He almost looked like he was, impressed? Oh brother, Gantu wasn't serious was he? Reuben was not entirely sure what Gantu thought about this female, but he knew one thing. If he liked her, he would never stand a chance with her. If some hard ass guy like that prisoner could be taken down that easily by such a dainty female of the same species, Gantu would not stand a chance.

"You see that Corporal?" She questioned, turning to face the Rookie after she had signed the hologram Officer Orlax had given her. Orlax proceeded to go into the other room to tend to the injured convict as she made herself known to everyone else. The Rookie was more speechless than anyone else in the room. Poor guy looked like he had just peed himself. "That, is how you treat your prisoners! You can't just ask questions and expect a straight answer. You have to be tough and assertive! Remember that."

The Corporal did not say a word, he just nodded and gazed down at the floor. Reuben knew that he was instantly regretting joining the Shaelek police force. And he did not blame him one bit. They were all psychopaths! Aggressive and too authoritarian for words. No wonder Gantu was not looking forward to going back home. Just imagine what a typical family dinner times were like! He shuddered to think.

"So you just had to break his arm instead? What kind of interrogation do you call that?!" A voice broke out rather rudely from the other end of the room. Everyone's gaze turned to the corner of the room. Gantu turned his head to Reuben once again. He had opened his huge mouth again! What had he told him about... oh, never mind!

The Chief crossed her arms and her brow rose up rather sceptically. She edged herself away from the Corporal and headed over towards the direction of the Commander. As she stepped forward, her feet gently touched the floor. She was not angry or shocked, just amused and rather confused. Gantu felt his hand rub against his eye in embarrassment. This was the first time she had finally looked at the pair upon her arrival, and she was viewing them the way those guys in the canteen viewed them earlier. All because Reuben could not keep his sandwich consuming mouth shut! He made a mental note to pummel him just as soon as they were alone together.

"Commander," Chief Zettar waltzed over and leaned in towards her superior with a very confused expression on her face. She then spoke rather quietly but her voice was still able to be picked up by the pair in the room. "Who's the mutant teddy bear?"

'Is she freaking serious? The teddy bear thing AGAIN?!' Reuben mentally screamed in fury. Twice today, by the Commander and now the Chief of security, he had been called a mutant teddy bear. What was the deal with that? He looked nothing like a teddy bear! He was a illegal genetic experiment, made by a mad scientist from Quelte Quan, who had the abilities to do things that she could only dream of. He would have argued back at this but Gantu was quicker to respond this time and grabbed the pesky sandwich making experiment off of his shoulder and held him between his hands as he struggled to break free.

The Commander quickly snapped back into reality and his eyes snapped with him. Finally realizing Gantu and Reuben were still present in his company, he spoke. "Oh, I have been very rude with my introductions." He then stood to attention in the way of Gantu and gestured towards the brow arched female who was now gazing directly at him "Captain Gantu, this is Chief Zellah Zettar of the Shaelek police force." Gantu felt a lump arise in the back of his throat when he first heard the mention of the Chief's full name. Zellah. That was a really nice name. Actually, as he had recalled, it was taken from the name of one of their worshipped Goddess', Zelless, Goddess of warriors. Now it all made sense. It suited her traits quite well. But Gantu's nerves were suddenly coming back to him as the female was introduced to him. She did not look too impressed, judging by her stance. Her expression was hard to make out, but he knew that it was to do with what Reuben had just blurted out. He was ruining his chances of making a good impression with anyone today. But in this case it was even worse. The Commander then gestured over to Gantu from the perspective of Zellah and beamed at her. "Zellah, this is Captain Gantu of the Galactic Alliance," he then sneered as Reuben pushed his head through the clenched hands of Gantu. "And his Galley Officer, Reuben."

The Chief tilted her head at Gantu for several moments without saying a word. She studied his face and his posture carefully. Gantu felt a rush of uneasiness come about him. What on Polluxar was she thinking about him? Did she hate him? Was she amused by him? Did she think him a fool? Finally when she spoke, a small professional smile appeared on her face. She unfolded her arms and placed one hand before him courteously. Gantu instantly responded to this by dropping Reuben to the floor. The poor experiment fell and yelped slightly as he collided with the floor from approximately 15 feet from the ground. No one paid any attention to him though. Gantu's gaze was fixed on her, and hers was on him.

"Ah," she beamed as the Captain returned her friendly gesture of a hand shake "so this is the famous Captain Gantu?" Her features softened, much to the added embarrassment of Gantu "It is a pleasure to meet you, Captain."

Gantu swallowed and felt her hand slip into his. He felt her skin, it was softer than it looked. So smooth and refined, he hadn't touched a female of his own species in years. Not wanting to look like an incompetent bumbling idiot, he grasped her hand and shook it. Her grasp was tight, surprisingly tight for a female of her size. Yet again, she had just taken down a guy twice Gantu's size in muscle mass, so this was hardly that shocking to him.

"It is nice to finally make your acquaintance Chief Zettar," Gantu smiled as she released her grip on his hand "I have heard nothing but good things about you."

She beamed at him and nodded "as have I about you Captain," she returned his compliment. The Commander suddenly interrupted the two's conversation as he spoke to the Chief directly, this time a more concerned expression formed on his face.

"Sorry to interject here Captain Gantu, but I need to speak to Chief Zettar a moment." he apologised as the pair turned in his direction. The female rolled her eyes and her arms folded again as she faced her superior.

"What is it Commander?" She asked expectantly.

"Well," he cleared his throat as the piercing screeches of the prisoner receiving medical attention was heard through a small gap in the door. It reminded Gantu that Officer Orlax was still treating the prisoner in the other room. Still in agony after his encounter with the aggressive female Chief. "I want you to understand that the Captain is from the Galactic Armada, they deal with their prisoners differently to what we do here. I was hoping you'd show a bit less aggression towards your convict today."

"I can't say I didn't try sir," she responded plainly as she gazed over through the glass before she looked over at the uneasy Rookie at the other end of the room. "But he wasn't going to crack with that Rookie in the room. Besides, he tried my patience. And you can't say he did not deserve it."

"But you have already put two convicts in hospital this month Zettar," he reminded her. Gantu suddenly shook his head in surprise. He wasn't expecting to hear that. She really was an aggressive sort of Officer. He knew at this point that he would have to keep a strict eye on her while handling his prisoners. The Galactic Council would not take it well if he returned his prisoners to Turo half beaten and broken.

"Try three," a voice broke out at the other end of the room. Suddenly, without warning, Officer Orlax reappeared and paced over to the Commander with a distasteful expression on his face. "I'm going to need your authorisation sir, for a medical crew to pick up Mr. Oxus here."

The Commander shook his head and a rather large sigh escaped his lips "what's his injuries like?"

"Two broken ribs, a broken arm, several split and strained muscles and a very sore back. As well as all the cuts and bruises she gave him," the medical Officer explained as the Commander took his hologram and signed it in order to give him the consent to get a medical team in.

"Oh Zettar," the Commander shook his head "what are we going to do with your rough ways?" He turned away and looked over at the medical Officer and gave him back the hologram he had just signed. "Can you manage everything here Officer Orlax?"

The younger Officer stood to attention and placed his hologram chart between his arm and his side as he placed his other arm in the air in order to give his superior a salute. "Yes sir, Commander Turak. I have sent for the medical team as we speak, they should be arriving within a few minutes."

"Excellent," the Commander turned back to Gantu and the Chief and gestured his arm towards the door. "Well Captain Gantu, Chief Zettar, I believe it is time for our briefing. If you both would accompany me to my office, I will be much obliged."

Gantu nodded and proceeded to follow the Commander and the female Chief out of the door. He was still in shock about what had just happened. Not only was his new partner revealed to be a female, but now he was being partnered up with someone who was just as assertive, if not more, as he was. Of course he had high hopes for his new partner and thought her the curious and trustworthy kind. But he wasn't expecting her to be this forceful on her prisoners. Gantu would keep a close eye on her. And not just because of their duty to the Galactic Alliance. He would also keep a close eye on her and try to talk to one of his own again. It was about time he got out of his comfort zone and made an effort to try and make the most of his time around another Shaelek. There was so many questions about his home world which were still left unanswered. Hopefully this Zellah Zettar would be a nice sort of person and would eventually become a friend if nothing else. But only time would tell. Only time...

Authors note: Whoa, long chapter! Hope you all enjoyed Chief Zellah Zettar's introduction. I bet you weren't expecting all that, eh? This is now the starting point of the rest of the events in the story. I will be focussing more and more on the crime aspects on this story as well as the chemistry between our two Shaeleks. And of course, Reuben's friendship with Gantu will be portrayed as it normally is. I hope you all enjoyed this. Please feel free to tell me what you think of it so far in a review. Thank you for reading and I will update soon.