Hydraulics churned as the door to the brig slid open. A man sat within one of the cells looked up from the floor, facing the direction of the sound. He smiled half sheepishly, half out of recognition at the white-furred Isorlai. The man stood up, dusted himself off and gave her a slow salute, [color=f7941d]"Ma'am. Adam Mallory. I assure you, I have a perfectly good explanation for this."[/color]

[hr]
Adam's shuttle arrived earlier than planned. He frowned as the shuttle captain announced their early arrival, and scoffed when the captain called it fortuitous. An hour early meant Adam will need to find some way to pass the time. The shuttle's landing struts let out a reverberating thunk as its magnetic grip switched on, holding it fast to the landing pad. Passengers around Adam rose out of their seats in a staggered pattern. Adam simply sat and watched the others leave. The shuttle won't have any of that as it chimed its warning, rushing the stragglers off. He grabbed his bag from under his seat and marched off the shuttle.

At the early hours of the planet's day-cycle, the port was busier than Adam expected. He had to weave through crowds after crowds, stopping only to refer to his assignment. He placed his toggle onto a 'toggle column'—a glossy pillar scattered throughout the port for public use. He scanned his assignment for the [i]Heart of Valor's[/i] dock number. With the number on hand, he switched over to port directory and requested directions. The system reported a 10 minute walk from where he was. Adam sucked on his teeth at the news. That left him with about half-hour to kill before he needs to report in. What could there be to do in that time?

A smile slowly dawned on Adam's face as an idea formed. He broke off into a run towards the [i]Heart of Valor[/i].

~~~~

Hardly one for doing things the easy way, Adam sneaked on-board the ship. [i]Let's see how far I get before anyone notice.[/i] With his gear stowed away in one of the vents in the cargo bay, Adam began snooping and poking into service corridors and maintenance access-ways. There were a few close calls here and there with the various crew of the ship, but he managed to remain hidden. Every so often, he would stop and plant his toggle onto the most reflective surface he can find. He looked over the basic blueprints of the ship, intel he managed to gather by asking around after he got his new assignment.

Things were going well until Adam was two decks away from the bridge. There were more foot traffic nearby. Most of the crew passing by were carrying their sidearm out in the open. [i]Shit.[/i] Adam stopped at one of the vent coverings and saw an Isorlai and a Ellori standing with their backs turned towards him. Both of them rested a hand on their sidearm. One of them—the Ellori—spoke, "Who exactly would be crazy enough to sneak onto a military starship?"

"Someone with a death wish, most likely," the Isorlai grumbled, "just keep quiet and stay alert. We were told the intruder's using service access and the vents to get around."

"Maybe he's lost in there. I don't envy the maintenance crew that needs to deal with that mess."

"I'm more worried about the smell," the Isorlai sniffed to make his point. His body stiffened and turned his head halfway towards the vent cover. Adam's' breath caught in his throat and his body stiffened. His Ellori partner looked over at the Isorlai, "What's wrong?"

"I smell something." The threatening growl in the Isorlai's voice got Adam moving. He slid back, trying to make as little noise as possible. A loud thump rang through the vent as his weight popped the panel under him. Cat's out of the bag now. Adam twisted around and crawled through the vents just like he crawled through the mud in boot camp. He slipped down into the service access connecting to the vent and came face to face with the barrel of a gun. Adam scoffed at his carelessness as he raised his hands. The Isorlai on the other side of the gun barked, "Get up."

Adam complied. His eyes scanned for escape routes, but thought better of it. He has to work with these guys for who knows how long. If he manages to show them up in his escape, he would've painted a target on his back that would take a lot of work and time to erase. Instead, he said, "Hey, would you believe me if I said I belong on this ship?"

"Turn around and march." The Isorlai ordered. Adam did as he was told, but he asked, "Where are we going?"

"The brig."

"Can you at least get Major Erien Bellioch for me? She can verify my identity." Adam asked, still smiling. The Isorlai growled, baring his teeth at Adam. The Ellori spoke up, "Wait a sec. What if he's telling the truth?"

"You're really going to believe this intruder? What if he's a spy?" The Isorlai growled at his partner.

"I rather make sure." The Ellori insisted. Adam let out a sigh of relief. The Isorlai jabbed him with his sidearm and said, "You're still going to the brig."

Adam groaned and followed the Ellori as she lead the way. This was turning out to be a shitty first impression.

[hr]

[@Silverwind Blade]