Chapter 6: A plan in action

Authors note: I'd like to thank the person (you know who you are) who favourited this story! Two watchers and a favourite! I really appreciate feedback of any sort on my work so thank you all so much! Anyway, here is chapter 6. Enjoy!

"Please sit down Captain."

Gantu did as he was gestured. He, with Reuben on his shoulder, sat down in the Shaelekean designed chair in the middle of the Commander's office. It was the exact same chair he had sat down in earlier, just as comfortable as it was before. The Commander and the Chief entered the room behind Gantu. Turak walked calmly around his desk to sit on the opposite side to where Gantu was sitting. The Chief however remained standing. Chief Zellah Zettar smoothly walked into the room and stood alongside the sitting Gantu, her waist his head height. She professionally remained firm with her posture and kept both hands behind her back as she awaited the Commander to begin. Gantu couldn't help but feel slightly uneasy knowing that he was comfortably sat down while she was standing right next to him.

"Won't you sit down Chief Zettar?" Gantu questioned up at the female Shaelek. She merely peered down at him and shook her head before the Commander responded on her behalf.

"Oh, I wouldn't bother asking her to sit down Captain Gantu." He told her as he pulled his chair closed to his desk. "She's a very hard person to persuade. She'd much rather stand, than sit in one of our nicely furnished chairs."

Gantu nodded and sat, still rather uncomfortably, as he turned to the Commander. Reuben kept his eyes locked closely onto the female, examining her closely. She looked like Gantu (only in female form) in that stance. She looked like she was trying to look as proud and professional as possible, just like Gantu did in front of the Galactic Council and anyone else he was trying to impress. And not only did she remind him of Gantu with the way she was standing, but also by her facial expression. She looked miserable. Almost as miserable as Gantu always looked. He had seen that look too much today. It seemed that Shaeleks were one moody species. But he could hardly blame them, he too would be miserable if he was one of them.

"So, where to begin..." the Commander stated as he began searching around his desk for something. Chief Zettar leaned over and picked up whatever he was searching for at the opposite end of the desk before proceeding to give it to the grateful Commander "ah, thank you Zellah."

"You're most welcome sir," she smiled slightly as she stood tall once again. He placed whatever she had given him on the desk and made sure the area was clear before switching the weird device on. Gantu recognized it instantly. It was an advanced Shaelekean projecting hologram. He hadn't used one in years, but he knew what they were. They were very similar to the holograms they used on Turo, just more advanced. The Commander flipped it on hastily and the light emitting from it reflected off of the ceiling to form a very large bluish image. It was a weapon. Something resembling a rather large plasma blaster.

"I am sure the Grand Councilwoman has made you aware of the types of contraband these criminal gangs are dealing in, Captain Gantu?" The Commander questioned, his tone already expecting a yes as a response. Gantu's eyes widened ever so slightly and found them gazing up at the female police Chief as she crossed her arms and gave him the exact look as her superior Officer. Gantu's face frowned nervously and he placed a finger underneath the V neck of his black and red shirt in order to loosen it.

"Umm," he began, gazing over at Reuben who shrugged in response. "Well, she did tell me they were dealing illegal weapons. But, she wasn't very clear on what kind..."

The Commander let out what sounded like a grunt. He placed his hands on the desk and tilted his head at the uneasy Captain of the Galactic Alliance. "Tell me Captain, how much do you know about these gangs? Do you know any of its members? Any planets they have bases on? Any names, dates, contacts, anything like that?"

Gantu looked down at his lap and sighed "no sir. I was hoping you would share some light on the subject. The Galactic Council has kept this all too quiet from me."

"I see," he placed a large hand to his chin and shook his head. "Typical Galactic Alliance. When it comes to matters concerning Interplanetary crises, they just don't wanna tell a soul. We don't have that policy on Shaelekar. We believe our people have the right to know of any criminal activity." He then gestured to the Chief and tapped his desk gently "very well. If you need a detailed briefing on this matter Captain, I will hand you over to Chief Zettar here. She has been working on this entire fiasco since the very beginning. And she has a much more in-depth understanding of it than compared to what I have." He placed his hand out and his fingers bent back and forth, signalling the younger female to step forward. "Chief Zettar, if you may?"

"Very well sir," she stepped forward behind Commander Turak's desk. She placed her hand on the table and leant on it slightly as her other hand pointed towards the hologram image of the weapon. "This is an example of the various weapons we have confiscated from each of our known suspects. This is a professionally homemade plasma cannon made with illegal weapons grade 'A' plasma. It has a soft ball firing system with an EH111 reading. The clip size is certainly not the classification we allow. It has a 1030 inch clip, almost twice over the legal limit. And the plasma itself is not stable since it is radioactive."

Reuben's brow suddenly shifted in utter confusion. He knew next to nothing about the classifications of blasters. To him, they were just a weapon to fire and stun, or occasionally kill, the bad guys. He certainly was no expert on advanced weaponry. Surprising for an illegal genetic experiment with an advanced intellect. Sadly though, weaponry was never his strong suit. It was usually Gantu's forte. Reuben did not have a clue as to what she was talking about at his point. But while he was confused, Gantu nodded and added his own response which only confused Reuben even more.

"Does it have any other technical features, such as the safety or the 8.1 back-up firing converter?" He questioned her closely. She simply shook her head at him before turning her head to the desk and pointed to the trigger of the gun on the hologram.

"No, it is a completely homemade constructed weapon, its designer had no intention to make it safe or user friendly. The 9.12 radiation reading we had carried out made us aware that it is certainly not a stable weapon."

Gantu and the Commander both looked pretty confident that they knew what she was on about. But Reuben, being a slow person at these kind of things, was now completely mind blank about it. What the Blitznak were they on about? 'What's with all the numbers and readings?' He thought to himself 'It's a plasma gun, not a mathematical instrument.'

"Ahem," Reuben coughed in order to gain the attentions of the Shaeleks present before him. Each of them turned their heads, all at once, in his general direction on Gantu's shoulder. "I don't wish to sound rude here..." he paused a moment "but could you speak in plain and simple English please?"

She placed a hand on her hip and inspected the tiny experiment. The Chief obviously wasn't impressed to have to simplify what she had just said to the unaware Galley Officer. "Fine," she spoke, impatience very evident in her tone "basically, these weapons we are finding are being manufactured by professionals who know exactly what they're doing. Their intentions are to make weapons that kill instantly with just one blast. They are using radioactive plasma which is banned throughout the Galactic Empire for being too dangerous." Reuben finally nodded. She then proceeded to poke him gently in the stomach and looked him right in the eye. "It would incinerate you, or even someone double your size, instantly!"

Reuben slyly shoved her finger away and smirked "they would have a hard time incinerating me, I'm indestructible."

Gantu shook his head and placed a finger up to his mouth to signal to Reuben to shut up. He did not need yet ANOTHER fiasco of embarrassment from his sandwich making companion. Especially not now. Zellah's brow raised and a smirk appeared on her face in some sort of amusement, she obviously didn't believe a word of what Reuben had just said. But unlike the Commander, she had not yet been told of what species Reuben actually was. She was still unaware of Reuben being an illegal genetic experiment of a mad scientist who was known pretty much throughout the entire galaxy after the 626 mess years ago.

"Anyway," she turned back to the hologram and spoke to the Captain once again. Gantu listened, with a curious and well alert eye. "These weapons have been found on over 10 different planets, each being exported to a secret location by a different array of species. We first got the drop on some of our own species being involved in this crime wave several weeks ago. Since then, I have made several arrests and interrogated each convict till they have cracked and told me all that I need to know. We have no information as to who is running this operation, but today we finally got the name of the planet where those weapons were headed. The interrogation you just witnessed of Mr. Oxus, has just proved a crucial part of our next few missions. With the information I have obtained from him and the other prisoners, we can track down the leader of the gang and shut him down entirely."

Gantu now finally understood everything. This criminal gang were slowly, but surely, becoming an Intergalactic threat, as the Grand Councilwoman herself had told him. But were they just dealing in arms? Or was that only a building block to a more complex stage in their plan? He knew that no one knew much about this gang's activities. They were surely keeping a low profile. A good tactic to use in organized crime. Though, it wouldn't be very organized if the whole Galactic Empire knew about it, would it? And it seemed that the Chief of security here was the best one to help him catch them. No wonder the Grand Councilwoman had assigned her to him. But why, oh why, did she have to be a female of his own species? Gantu still was not sure of his own personal security regarding her. She was a very attractive female to be sure, but he would try to not let that get the better of him. But she was still very ill-tempered. And her aggressive nature could be a problem if any of their prisoners were like the one she had just sent into hospital with critical injuries. However, Gantu himself could not argue with what she did. Oxus did deserve everything he got. And Gantu had been in similar situations himself with some prisoners he had escorted to Turo in the past. He almost vaporized experiment 626 with his blaster when he had bitten his finger that one time. But every time the Captain let his anger issues get the better of him with his prisoners, a crew member was always on standby to put him back in his place and remind him of his position in the Galactic Empire. He could surely do the same with Miss Zettar right?

"Do you understand it now Captain Gantu?" The Commander questioned directly at the now eager Captain.

"Yes sir," Gantu began nodding rapidly. His eyes locked onto the Chief for several moments, she smiled with a slight relief and he returned her smile with a rather dumbfounded one. Her brow then raised entertainingly and looked away from that weirdly looking Captain. Gantu then realized what he had been doing and immediately felt embarrassed. 'Keep it together Gantu. She's just a female. Remember your job! Your job is your life!' He mentally hollered to himself. His eyes then turned back onto the Commander and he cleared his throat again. "But I have a question," he raised his hand rather weakly.

"Yes?"

"Well," he coughed making hand gestures as he spoke "you have not mentioned what their next plan is all about. I mean, what could they possibly need all of those weapons for?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Chief Zettar intervened, looking at him questioningly as she placed a firm hand on the Commander's desk and leant against the side of it. "They're amassing an army to engage war on countless planets and overthrow their governments. And when they gain enough power and their numbers have trebled, they will advance to the Galactic Armada and take down the Federation."

Gantu's finger drooped down. His question was answered, but not to his expectations. This was serious. DEADLY SERIOUS. And the Grand Councilwoman was entrusting him and this female Shaelek Chief to take down these criminals to prevent this from happening. Sure, he had taken down fleets of criminal space cruisers before. And sure he had once led a rebel alliance on a planet to stop a civil war. But this was an Intergalactic threat which was about to become a reality. If he were to fail, a lot of lives would potentially be ruined or even lost. But he had already vowed not to slip up again. And of course the Grand Councilwoman was still entrusting him to succeed with this mission right? And this gang was in its early stages by the sounds of it. All he needed to do was shut down the operation by investigating into the gang's known members and find out who was in charge. And once he/she was taken out, everything would be settled once again.

"This is why the Grand Councilwoman has entrusted you and Chief Zettar to go on the missions to prevent this," the Commander spoke, (unknowingly) copying what Gantu had just thought. "With the combined power of a highly ranked and respectable Officer from Shaelekar and the Captain and his skilled crew from the Galactic Federation, the criminal gangs will be rounded up and sent to Turo for a proper trial. Your main target will be those weapons. We have seen what they can do to a person our large size. Blitznak knows what they could do to countless other alien species who are considerably shorter than us."

"And what exactly will be our first mission?" Reuben finally questioned. The Commander proceeded to change the hologram image to a picture of a strange yellow and green planet with two orbiting moons. It looked considerably different to Shaelekar. But Reuben recognized it from somewhere. He and Gantu must have visited there on one of their former missions. That was the only logical explanation as to how he recognized it.

"THIS will be your first mission," the Commander explained, his hand hovering underneath the hologram image of the planet. "Mr. Oxus gave us the name of the planet and its location as to where the criminals were going to meet up with the contraband. The planet Meltrok. It's a very dusty and polluted planet, full of industry. A good place for criminal scum to hide. Your mission is to go there and enquire about any suspicious activity and arrest anyone who you recognize to be a suspected member of this criminal gang. Once you have made your enquiries and made some arrests, you are to take your convicts back to Turo to meet with the Grand Councilwoman. From that point on, she will inform me of your progress as you go on your next mission after that."

Gantu's eyes suddenly lost their determined glow. He wasn't particularly thrilled to be hearing about his first mission. He had been to Meltrok before. Not a nice planet at all. Apart from the pollution and the very large and overpopulated crowds, its people were not very nice to deal with. Meltrok was one of the many, many planets in the galaxy which had a mixed species as its general population. Many Interplanetary species lived there for the work. But the planet was rather poor and disgusting. The lowest of the low lived there. In some ways, Gantu pitied the poor families who struggled to make ends meet. They usually raised children who usually took a wrong turn. Not because they had bad parents, but because the society was lacking and the laws were pretty much non-existent. This was the reason why the planet had such a huge crime rate. Few laws and even fewer law enforcers. But of course, out of any of the other planets in that quadrant, Meltrok would be the most likely place for the gangs dirty dealings to take place. And his security crew could find some of the known gang members and arrest them, then perhaps they could get more information as to who was really behind it.

"Of course the main city of Meltrok is a big place," the Chief added "and an array of different languages are spoken there. We may need someone who has a vast knowledge in Interplanetary linguistics."

Gantu gazed over in the direction of Rueben, eye arching, with a small determined smile appearing on his features. He knew just the guy for that job. Reuben had been built with a vast knowledge of alien languages. One of the many useful things Jumba Jookiba had programmed into his experiment 625. He knew over 52 different languages spoken commonly among various quadrants around the galaxy. And fortunately, one of those 52 languages happened to be Meltrokian. It was not a hugely spoken language, but the local folk who dwelled on that planet still spoke it. This would come in handy if any questions would have to be asked to any people who knew about any suspicious activity going on there.

"Indeed," the Commander agreed as he began typing something into his advanced computer on the other side of his desk. "I will have an interpreter droid accompany you to the planet."

Gantu saw this as an opportunity to speak up. He cleared his throat and raised his hand slightly as he spoke to the preoccupied Commander with a slightly hesitant tone. "Excuse me sir, but that won't be necessary."

The Commander stopped what he was doing and tilted his confused head at the Captain. Gantu merely shifted his gaze at Reuben and tapped his finger towards his shoulder as Reuben shifted his feet awkwardly. "Reuben here has advanced Interplanetary linguistics as one of his original programming's, and one of the many languages he can speak fluently would be that of the Meltrokian language."

The Commander raised his head confidently and turned off his computer as a response. However, Chief Zettar, who was unaware of Reuben's true origin, made a very odd expression as she stepped forward. Commander Turak noticed his younger Officer's off gaze and decided to enlighten her on the subject.

"Chief Zettar, Officer Reuben here is an illegal genetic experiment," he pointed over to Gantu's shoulder and Zellah's eyes followed still rather dazed in confusion. "I believe you heard of the arrest of Dr. Jumba Jookiba and the escape of experiment 626?" She simply nodded in response "well, this is his 'cousin', experiment 625, now known to be called Reuben. Captain Gantu has claimed that he has all of the powers of 626 and is a very trusty Officer."

"I see," was her only response to this. She examined the little yellow experiment curiously, then her eyes locked onto Gantu once again. Both Gantu and Reuben noticed her excessive stare on them and neither of them knew what to say or do. She looked like she was judging them. But was that a good thing or a bad thing? By the look on her face, Gantu feared that she could see right through him. Did she think of him as a simpleton with a weird disposition and partner/Galley Officer? She was obviously the intelligent and 'fast to judge' sort. Especially judging by her reputation. The rest of the Officers he had encountered today (with the exception of the ones in the canteen, after the fiasco with Reuben) had treated him with nothing but respect and adoration. But this female was rather sketchy around him. He couldn't make it out. What was she really thinking? He had guessed that she was not eager to pack up her things and be whisked away from her home world for several months, just to catch the bad guys. She had probably been forced into it by that pushy Commander Turak for all he knew. But no matter what the case, Gantu would try and be pleasant to her. He did not want to make enemies over a feeling he had. Especially one involving the opposite sex.

The Commander broke her stern eyes away from the pair of Officers from the Galactic Federation when he spoke once again, this time, he clasped his hands together confidently. "Well Captain Gantu, Chief Zettar, Officer Reuben," his voice still made a rather distasteful sound as he spoke Reuben's name. "I now believe you are aware of your mission and I now ask you to take your leave in order to prepare your ship for travel tomorrow."

Gantu's head shot up faster than a laser blast "tomorrow?" He jolted in surprise "I thought we were leaving today..."

The Commander gave a rather hearty laugh and stood to pat the younger Captain on the shoulder, much to Gantu's annoyance. "Oh my dear boy, no, no!" He continued to chuckle "you will stay here one night in order to give Chief Zettar time to return home and pack. And of course your ship will need preparing."

Gantu merely nodded and tried his best to hide his grimace under a fake professional smile. He was not planning on this. But then again, all of his expectations had gone out into the vacuum of space as soon as he had set foot on the space port. He was expecting a grim arrival and instead got treated like royalty for a change. The Commander was not as he had pictured. His shenanigans with Reuben would probably never be lived down. And most shockingly of all, the partner, who the Grand Councilwoman had taken upon herself to employ on his behalf, had not turned out to be who he had thought at all. He was expecting a rough and tough male Shaelek who would challenge his authority. But instead he got a female Shaelek, who was just as tough as any other male of their species.

"Very well then sir," Gantu spoke finally deciding to stand up. He briefly turned and bowed his head in the direction of Chief Zettar before he proceeded to walk over to the Commander and shake his hand once more.

"You will take your leave and make preparations, and we will see you at the space port tomorrow morning." Turak instructed releasing his grip on the Captain's hand. "Good day to you Captain Gantu."

Gantu turned to leave the office and saluted to the Commander "Good day to you, Commander Turak," his eyes briefly glanced over in the direction of Zellah and he bowed his head to her politely "Chief Zettar."

"Captain," she returned his polite gesture and crossed her arms as her eyes followed him out of the room. Unlike Gantu, the Chief had decided to stay a little longer in order to speak alone with her superior Officer. Once Gantu and Reuben had exited the office, she took it upon herself to make conversation with him.

Gantu watched as the door automatically closed, rather gently, after he had exited the Commander's office. He did not move for several moments. Instead he kept his head low and remained silent. Rueben however, was actually smirking. He struggled to hold back something which he was containing inside his mouth. He covered it with both of his tiny paw-like hands and continued to struggle to contain his random spluttering as his friend remained awkwardly silent. But sadly, Reuben was no good at concealing what he felt (as he had displayed frequently throughout the course of the day) and soon found himself letting it all go. Gantu's eyes remained low until his ears came upon a very unexpected sound. And what he heard was... laughter?!

"Phahahahahahahaha!" Reuben keeled over in hysterics much to the surprise of his larger Shaelekean friend. Gantu's head turned upon his shoulder and his eyes widened at the sight of Reuben grabbing his chest with one hand and balancing his body on his tusk with the other. "Wooooo, boy! It can't get much better than that!" Reuben continued to talk throughout his short breaths due to fits of laughter.

"And may I ask what you find so funny?" Gantu's eyebrow arched up and a small frown began to show itself on his face. Reuben took several more moments to compose himself enough to respond to his best friend.

"You, my blubber-butt buddy!" Reuben pointed a single tiny finger towards Gantu's cheek, poking him rather sharply as he continued to keel over in hilarity. "Your face when you saw her! Oh my Polluxar! Hahahahaha!"

Gantu couldn't help but feel rather embarrassed. He already had an idea what Reuben was on about. But just because his newly assigned partner was actually a female in the same species as his own, it did not mean that he liked her. Like that! Reuben was just being immature. He always was in this kind of situation. He knew he would hear no end of this from now on. That was one of the many disadvantages of having a female partner. Reuben, along with other people no doubt, would instantly connect him and her as a couple! JUST BECAUSE, they were members of the same species. Oh the humility. Gantu wasn't particularly looking forward to this.

"It was merely shock and surprise," Gantu proclaimed as boldly as he could "I was not expecting Chief Zettar to be a female Shaelek! I was just as surprised as you were!"

"Yeah," Reuben giggled, wiping a stray tear from his eye as he began to calm down "but I'm not the one who likes her."

Gantu grumbled. Aaaaaaaaand, so it began. "I don't like her!" He shouted, trying to put the little experiment off of the idea before he carried it too far. "Well, not like that anyway. She's a respectable Officer. A little aggressive and temperamental perhaps, but she'll be a good addition to our crew."

"Yeah, you're right there," Reuben smirked "besides, you wouldn't stand a chance with her anyway. She could kick your buttookie all the way across to the other side of the Whirlpool Galaxy if she wanted to. I mean, did you see the way she kicked that guys ass in there?! If that is how she takes out guys twice your size in blubber, imagine what she'd do to you!" He started to snigger immaturely again, much to the annoyance of his companion.

"Hey, will you knock it off?!" Gantu scowled, poking him with his large finger rudely. "I don't like her ok? Just because she's a member of the opposite sex does not mean that I-"

"Gantu? Is that really you?"

The sudden third voice that broke into the conversation immediately stopped Gantu from finishing his sentence. Both he and Reuben turned their surprised heads in the direction of where the voice had come from and the rest of their bodies soon followed. Reuben's eyes widened in a slight surprise, it was a guy he had never seen before in his life. A male Shaelek, around the same height as Gantu, with the same standard uniform as the other Officers in the police force. His tusks were remarkably larger than your average Shaelek and his blue eyes looked rather wide along with his smile. Reuben didn't know this guy, but Gantu certainly did. Gantu was rather taken aback for several moments, his eyes were widened in confusion before they suddenly shifted into a realizing stare.

"R-Rozcor?" Gantu stammered, taking a gulp as he made out the name. The male Shaelek grinned and went over to Gantu and pulled him into a tight, and rather rough, embrace.

"Gantu!" He repeated again, this time more cheerfully "long time no see buddy!"

"W-well yes," Gantu shook his head, his face now rather at ease "over 10 years to be exact."

"Wow," Rozcor pulled away suddenly "THAT long?" Gantu merely nodded in response to this. The male Shaelek smirked and punched him playfully on the shoulder as he continued to speak. "We sure have some catching up to do! I heard of your return to Shaelekar whilst on duty in the cargo bay this afternoon, and I figured I'd say 'hi' to my old partner."

"Partner?" Reuben interjected his head switching between the two aliens at a dramatic speed. The male Shaelek grinned and nodded down at the tiny Officer.

"Yeah," he the clasped Gantu's shoulder coarsely and tapped it several times "we started out as Rookies in the force. Were partnered up together too. Gantu and I were the best of friends." He then turned his head back to Gantu and his face frowned slightly "still would be if it weren't for a certain someone not bothering to call me after he got transferred to the Galactic Alliance."

Gantu shrugged his shoulders and an uneasy smile appeared on his face "sorry."

"Nah, don't sweat it," he nudged him casually and grinned again "heard you made it all the way up to the top! Became Captain! Good on ya Ganty!"

Gantu was certainly surprised to see a former friend of his still working for the police force on his home planet. He had gone all day without seeing a single person he once knew during his short time here years ago. Yet here he was, in the presence of his ex-partner who still, unbelievably, recognized him after all of this time. It was a nice surprise. One of the only nice surprises he had seen all day. Sure, Chief Zettar hadn't disappointed him, but it wasn't a pleasant surprise to see a female take down a prisoner that aggressively and remain rather cold towards everyone else. And the way she addressed him at times was less than to be desired.

"So," Gantu smiled at the other Shaelek, changing the subject slightly "how have you been?"

"Oh, same old, same old," Rozcor tilted his head from side to side and folded his arms on his chest "been moving, slowly but surely, up the ranks. I'm a Major now! Got promoted last summer."

Gantu was surprised. His former best friend was a rank lower than his new partner. 'Oh, if only Chief Zettar could swap ranks with Rozcor' Gantu thought to himself 'then I would be much more comfortable with this whole situation.' But sadly he knew that he was stuck with the female Shaelek whether he liked it or not. It was not for him to decide, it was the Galactic Council's.

"Major Rozcor," Gantu said to himself, chuckling in a slight amusement "I like it."

"Fitting ain't it?" He remarked "but being a Major in the police force can be boring at times. So much paper work to fill out and fresh meat to train." By the term "fresh meat" Gantu had assumed he meant the young Corporal Rookies. Like that Corporal Verin who was 'assisting' in that interrogation he had just witnessed. Gantu recalled a time where he was referred to as 'fresh meat' by some of the older, more experienced Officers. Not-so-fun times. "But it can be fun at the same time!" The Officer continued, his quirky grin changing to a rather proud one as he stood tall and continued to speak "and of course I have a family of 4 now."

Gantu was astounded. His rambunctious friend had taken a path he had never taken. Stayed with his home planet's police force, achieved a high ranked status, and more importantly, settled down and had a family. It made him realize that perhaps he could have made it far if he had stayed at home instead of joining the Galactic Alliance. That small hint of regret was coming back again.

"Who's the lucky girl?" Gantu crossed his arms as he pried, rather eagerly, into his friend's personal life. Rozcor delve into his pocket and picked out a picture hologram he had been carrying around with him. He flipped it on and passed it over to Gantu. Gantu raised it up to his face and placed it into view so that Reuben could also see it. On the hologram was a youngish female, around his age, with 4 children and Rozcor himself surrounding her. One of the children was a baby carried in her arms and the others were old enough that they were standing. Reuben smirked slightly at the picture. One of the children looked just like Gantu did when that Babyfier experiment turned him into a baby back in their experiment hunting days.

"Sheli is her name," Rozcor explained as Gantu passed the hologram picture back to him. "I met her 7 years ago after we did an arrest around her neighbourhood. She was a witness to the crime and we had to interrogate her as a witness. Guess you could say, we hit it off and ended up together."

"I'm very happy for you Rozcor," Gantu smiled encouragingly "you sound like you've had a blast over these past 10 years."

"Yeah," he nodded "but what about you? I've heard you've had some rather dodgy experiences while you've been away from home."

Reuben did a half cough, half snort in response to this. Dodgy was definitely an understatement. "Are you kidding?" He remarked almost bursting into hysterics again "this guy has had more-than-weird experiences over the past couple of years."

The male Shaelek turned his head in amusement at the small alien experiment as he leant up against the wall rather casually. "Oh yeah?" He kept his eyes locked onto Gantu's shoulder and crossed his arms slyly. "What's my buddy been doing?"

"Well," Reuben began "he was Captain of the Galactic Alliance before I met him, then he was retired by the Grand Councilwoman after he failed to capture my cousin, Stitch. Then he was forced to work for a pissed off gerbil who wanted to take over the galaxy. And during this time, he met me and we were left stranded on the planet Earth for 3 whole years. Then we finally got put back into the Galactic Alliance and had a perfect record up until recently."

Gantu let out a groan. He did not need Reuben to brag about his recent or past failures to anyone, let alone to his rather successful friend. Rozcor nodded in response. "Yeah," he remarked, a finger pointing up in the air "I heard about the escape of Zellious Glornack, bad luck there. We've been after him for ages. He's had some connections to the criminal gangs business that Chief Zettar is working on. But I don't know much about that, I work in the other criminal divisions."

"Wait," Gantu's brow arched up "you know about Chief Zettar?"

"Pfffft," Rozcor blurted out a rather weird laugh "who doesn't know of her? Only one of the best Officers in the entire Shaelekean police force!"

Reuben leant against Gantu's tusk casually and pointed his thumb towards him "Gantu-Shmantu here has just been partnered up with her."

"Ooooh," Rozcor grimaced slightly, much to the added concern of Gantu himself. "Hard luck there."

What did he mean by that? Should he be worried about this? Gantu's eyes widened in a slight concern as he watched Rozcor's expressions change rather dramatically from calm and casual to rather concerned and sympathetic. "Why?" Gantu questioned, a bit too eagerly "what's wrong with her?"

"Oh," Rozcor snapped, now standing completely upright "nothing at all!" He assured him "she's just a bit... oh how do I put it... uneasy to be around. Let's just say, she takes her job WAY too seriously. But heck, I hear that is something you both share in common, eh?"

Gantu wanted to object to this. He'd much rather not have anything in common with that female at all. She seemed rather too antagonistic for his tastes. He had already told himself in the past, if he were ever to look for a female mate, he would go for the gentle kind. That was why he dated Cynta during his college years. Before she went down the 'letting herself go' route, she was always kind and sweet natured. Everything that this Zellah Zettar was not. And from what he was hearing from each person he had encountered, Zellah Zettar was exactly the opposite of your typical female Shaelek. She was unique, but in the more manlier ways. It wasn't normal for a female to try and take on the authority of a male in their society. And this was something Gantu would have to get used to.

"Exactly my point!" Reuben spoke up before Gantu could even open his mouth. Reuben then turned to Rozcor and spoke the words Gantu did not wish him to repeat. "Gantu here has a 'thing' for Miss Zellah Zettar." Gantu went to interject once again, but was beaten to it, this time by Rozcor.

"Oooooh, wrong move there dude!" Rozcor squinted slightly "sure, she's a real nice figure to look at, but she's way out of your league!"

"But I don't-" Gantu tried to speak once again, only to be interrupted by Reuben again.

"Yeah, she just put a guy in hospital with a broken arm."

A sudden snort came out of the Major's mouth. "A broken arm? Are you kidding me?!" He then laughed as his eyes shifted from Reuben to Gantu rather rapidly. "You both know she once put a guy in a coma right?" He then noticed the pair look rather alarmed and his smile slowly, and awkwardly, began to fade away. "Oh," He remarked, his tone becoming quieter "I guess you didn't hear about that."

The Captain and the Galley Officer suddenly froze at the very thought of this. They knew that she was rather violent and extreme with that guy who had just been interrogated, but she had crossed a line there. Was she that messed up? Putting a guy into a coma?! Reuben wondered how she was still allowed to interrogate people, let alone still having a job. This was completely crazy. But hey, this was how the law system worked on this planet. He was just too used to the rules that the Galactic Federation enforced.

The atmosphere went rather tense and silent. The corridor was pretty much lifeless, no one else but Gantu, Reuben and Rozcor were around. They were still pretty close to the Commander's office, and no one was around to hear what they were saying. Gantu and Reuben exchanged concerned glances and occasionally gazed over at the pensive Major. None of them spoke. Each awaited for the other to say something. But before anyone could speak again. The door of Commander Turak's office automatically opened up. Each of the Officers' attentions turned in the direction of the door. And when a figure stepped out. It only made the situation rather worse. It was Chief Zellah Zettar herself. The exact person who they were just talking about. She exited the office, unaware of the two Shaeleks and the genetic mutation standing at the other end of the corridor. She merely exited the room with a rather resentful stare as she gazed down at some of the documents she was carrying in her hands. As the door closed on her she briefly gazed up and her deep purple eyes scoured her surroundings. And when her attention finally fell upon the three Officers who were all staring directly at her, she merely stepped past them and acknowledged one of them briefly.

"Chief Zettar!" Major Rozcor stood to attention as she paced past him proudly. She merely nodded and continued walking, not even stopping to make conversation.

"Major Rozcor," she remarked as she headed down the corridor. All eyes followed her and watched her leave the premises. Not once did she acknowledge Gantu or Reuben in any way, shape or form. In some ways it made him feel rather rejected. She was somehow resentful to him. And if she was going to ignore him like this now, imagine what she would be like to work with. Gantu was sensing that this partnership was not going to work out. He had a feeling at the back of his mind that sooner or later, he would be begging the Grand Councilwoman to have the Shaelekar police force to take her back. And that was something he did not wish to do unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Yeah, she's one tough cookie is Zellah," Rozcor remarked finally easing the tension by speaking moments after her quick exit. "You're gonna need a whole lotta luck to work with her, Gantu."

Gantu felt regret and unwillingness wash over him. What in the Creblock system had the Grand Councilwoman signed him up for? He was not looking forward to their first mission. He would be setting course for the planet Meltrok tomorrow with Chief Zettar joining his crew. And his impression of his new partner was less than to be desired. She was everything he wanted, yet at the same time, everything he did not want. He was expecting a male Shaelek to challenge his authority. But instead he had a female. And the truth was, she looked sweet and innocent, but her fiery temper and her actions which she had displayed, made her look more menacing than most of the other Officers in the police force. Gantu would have to play it tough if he were to stand any chance of cooperation with this woman. He would not take no for an answer! He would remain firm and would forget everything about her being a member of the opposite sex. She would be his equal in species and lower regarding rank. Gantu was not prepared to risk his operation over one Officer who had a very rough reputation. He would have to keep her in check if this mission were to be a success. Finally he had met someone more firm and aggressive than himself. And deep down, it scared him. It scared him A LOT.

Authors note: Oh Blitznak Gantu, what have you been signed up with? Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I will be posting the next one very soon! Oh, and keep an eye out on my DeviantArt page (the link is on my profile), I will be very soon posting fan art for this story. Thank you guys for reading, and please feel free to review it! Feedback is always appreciated.