Entry 008 - Perfecter

Siska stared through the one-way glass at the Dawn Fox, busy at his station. He was certainly younger than she had expected, and rather taller than usual. If he was standing straight instead of  stooping over the workbench, she could look straight into his eyes.

“And has he been there all day?” she asked, slightly incredulous, addressing the nearby techs.

“Almost directly since his shipped touched down,” said a tech, looking bemused. “Came straight in, asked for a large quantity of our freshest samples and,”

Seven was watching the readout scrolling by on a pair of large screens mounted just above the workbench, making an occasional note, or freezing the feed to zoom down into some microscopic nuance.

“Has there been any change?” Siska asked, again addressing the room.

“He got very excited about a small variance between a wild stain and the ‘Sunlit’ modified varieties, but has been mostly quiet.” The small group of Drusk watched as Seven stood nearly motionless, his glorious tail swinging in a painfully slow arc as the scopes chewed through molecular data.

“He is very dedicated, Landwarden.”

“All the more committed to their mistake” Siska shot back, striding through the double doors that opened into the laboratory proper. She could feel her mane standing out, and she didn’t care.

“Dawn Fox, have you identified the flaw?”

Seven turned, surprise evident across his face, one ear drooped sideways. “Flaw? Not yet certainly -- what data we have here certainly doesn’t point toward a flaw -

Siska took a step closer, pleased to see Seven’s ears falter.“When will your answer be actually useful?”

“I’m not sure I --

“You Foxes fly far from home, giving promises of hearty plants and bountiful harvest.” Her lip curled in an unmistakable threat. “Does your wisdom end when things go wrong?”

Seven glanced back at the readout front the CAM unit he had been operating. “I haven’t confirmed anything -- well, except the native ril and modified strains remain exactly as anticipated. Zero genetic drift.

“What good are your words when thirty percent of the arable land on Kest has now seen this “golden” blight?” Siska waved irritably toward Seven.

“Well, insulting my race will do nothing to accelerate our investigation, that is certain.” Seven was now staring at Siska directly, and though his voice was quiet, his posture indicated hidden strength. “Across thousands of Union worlds, there has never been a case of runaway genetic mutation in species we introduce. Not one.”

Siska moved closer still, virtually touching the Dawn Fox, unconcerned by the breach. Seven leaned away, but did not break her gaze. “You Dawn Fox lie.” A nearby Drusk caught her breath.

“I am unfamiliar with your customs here,” Seven said, still maintaining eye contact with Siska’s baleful stare, “but if your goal is to instigate conflict,”

Siska grinned and repeated “Foxes lie,” being sure to emphasize her disgust with the interaction. “Foxes live easily, and do not understand Kest, or our lives here.”

“Siska,” an older Drusk researcher said, a cautioning tone in his voice.

“While I’m not certain, it appears these “blight” plants were introduced quite recently. This is critical,” Seven glanced meaningfully toward the Sr. researcher, “they cannot reproduce, so there has to be some external vector.”

“And it is my responsibility to see this ‘vector’ is removed from this planet.” Siska’s ears we locked upright, teeth showing, muscles tense.

“But you can’t --”

“CAN’T !?” Siska nearly shouted, unable to intimidate using her height, but leaning in anyway. “It’s my responsibility to preserve and protect these lands and my choice is to remove you, and your imposter plants.”

“That would be a serious breach of contact Landwarden --” Seven began.

“You have no say here!” Siska shouted, indignant that it was even a question. “Kest is not yours, and never will be.”

“But I came here to help!” Seven protested. “This ‘golden blight’ might be a real threat to other systems!” Several of the assembled Drusk had backed away, primarily out of respect, and no one wanted to be caught in the middle.

“And we’ll remove this threat, and you, from ours!” Siska yelled, her composure fracturing. “Now get out of our labs before I have you thrown out.”

Seven glanced from Siska, to Kethkal, and around the room. When he spoke, his voice was quiet, icy calm. “I invoke Section 61 of the Allied Union races, and place a quarantine on the Kest system.”

... continues Saturdays @ 7pm (GMT -8)