[center][h1]Much, much later[/h1][/center]
Creft sat in his office, his head leaned against his right hand. More safety briefs. Of course. Duke Virne did not spare even his friends from his watching eye. Meeting his professional side was something he could have well have done without... the jolly man that was present in the meetings of the council, even if he did not specifically find things a laughing matter, was a much more tolerable person than the strict wall he was when concerned about the internal safety of the Fleet. But at least he had been reminded why he was in charge of that. And the General, if anyone, knew how important it was to have trustworthy men operating under one's command.

He sat up straighter and called upon ACASIAS to repeat the message he had received earlier once more. On sector Delta 14 as UFP called it the Fleet had picked up a drifting escape pod. It had been nabbed for investigation, but instead of a valuable person worth trading anywhere they had obtained somebody who, according to their own words, would not want anything to do with the Federation any longer. A shame, until the crew had realised that this man might well have insider information they would freely share with the Fleet. Of course, it could all well be a trap for all the General knew. But at least the man could not make an attack on his person. The pickaxe of his had been confiscated once the vessel he had been sent to [i]Universal Nova[/i] on had docked. The General briefly considered reprimanding the troops for letting him keep it until here, but then again if they were to trust the man enough to bring him in here, to chat with the General himself, perhaps they could also hand the tool back later.

The bell to his office rang and the sharpened metal digit pressed the blue button. The door opened and two Scrounger soldiers led the man in. These two were not the ones he had travelled with, just in case he might have influenced that lot. They would remain at the door while the General would motion the human to sit down on the other side of his desk. "I hope you understand just how important a person you are meeting. The reason you sit there before [i]me[/i] is that most of the others that were on the diplomatic mission to your former home Federation are... busy. My sister may join us soon, but before we get to what she needs... could you repeat your story for me?" General Ogni Emethel Haw'kohd Dis'nahm Bi'ahni Lawga Ormo Pohmpus Da'nit Ar'edi Iz Creft asked of the new arrival.

[@scifidude47][@Gordian Nought]