Chapter 2: September 14th, 2350

“That is enough about me,” Shira said to herself in a calm, emotionless voice.

Staring at the restroom mirror was none other than an anthro shark-like woman. Her slick grayscale skin reflected off the overhead light. Shira was busy checking her hair and her hollowed-out right eye. She fitted the eyepatch over it as the elastic band fit snug on her head and purple hair. She didn’t have to look upon the damage that the disease had done to her. Even with her hair blocking it, there were subtle hints that black vein protrusions were going outward from the right eye socket. The combination of the dark purple hair and the eyepatch was more than enough to discourage the wayward individual that would question her ailment.

Shira seemed more than satisfied with the way her hair was set up as she moved it over the eyepatch. The hair would flow downward and over the right side jaw and cheek. In the end, her only working yellow shark-like eye was what she could see from. She monitored any signs of the halted disease on her right side. Her pointed shark-like jaws and snout looked alright to her.

She remarked at her appearance one last time. Her blue and red UHN jumpsuit uniform was more significant than the average human. With her seven-foot-tall frame, the Shal’rein were titans of the Itrean subspecies. Regardless, her eye carefully noted any crevice or crinkle that may show on the uniform itself. Carefully crafted, her attire even had a cut-out portion for her large shark-like tail to swing around without hindrance. Even the boots were painted blue to fit over her digitigrade legs and feet. She looked much like any human being in most aspects. Being from a subspecies of long evolved sharks, Shira knew that she was rather impressive when compared to the human beings of Aphadus.

Of course, there was one inevitable problem that Shira was all too aware of. Even her uniform hinted at the faint outline of a protruding object in her back pocket. She gave no recollection to it and instead simply kept a calm composure to the events that were going to transpire for the day.

“Good enough...” Shira said to herself. With almost no accent in her voice, she swung her tail to see the large fins. She gave a brief nod as her eye spotted a tiny speck of dust on her right shoulder. She used her four-digit fingers to carefully pluck it before tossing it off of her.

The restroom was nothing impressive to it. It was just past lunchtime, and she knew that she had to return to work. She slowly stepped away from the mirror, leaving only her gazing single eye to show her serious side. Impressions were always important, and it was best to always appear as the prim and proper officer even if she was only enlisted. Only a couple people were supposed to know who she truly was, and despite significant efforts to stop it, rumors had spread throughout the military base on Aphadus.

With that, the sliding door of the restroom opened up, and the Shal’rein stepped out into the central passageway. The great dome consisted of numerous hallways and rooms for every military personnel. Shira herself was pretty used to the constant commotion of everyday work. Humans that passed by would always look up at her. She was not dressed up like the Shal’rein that served in the T’rintar clan. If there were any of them, they would be in green, black, and purple armor. She preferred to see her as indomitable. If they feared her, then they feared her. If they were impressed, then they were impressed. She did not care about what they felt about her. It was something that she was always used to.

She began her long trek down the passageway. In reality, Aphadus’s military base had a large, almost circular type of hallway. The center portion consisted of areas advocated towards the hangar facility and the top chain of command. Aphadus was not precisely the top-notch base as it should be. It was something that Shira was all too aware of. The damage that she helped incur to it had been long repaired by now.

As she walked, she could see a couple of men that looked up at her as she proceeded past them. Her protruding fin ears were tuned to their direction. She could overhear them as they whispered their questions to one another. Who was she? Why was she wearing a UHN uniform? It was commonplace, but it was something that she knew was part of a long process for humankind itself. She could even recount seeing a Yutilian that was dressed in a UHN uniform as well. The longer the alliance stood, the more likely the humans would start to see Itreans in their day-to-day lives.

For Shira, she did not care either way. She only had one destination as she made a right turn in the hallway. She could overhear the announcements of the day, but it was superficial background chatter. Everything was set in accordance with the day, and she had everything carefully established with the scene of events that were going to transpire. The long walk was something that she was all too used to, and she kept a relaxed composure as she moved. Her tail would never sway, unlike the other Shal’rein. She was meticulous in ensuring that it didn’t bother anyone. She knew that her strength was more substantial than anyone that was present, and she was well aware of it.

More people walked by her. One gave her a mean look. It was a human woman. Shira’s eye caught her looking at her. She was well aware of the suffering that she brought to the people at the base. Of course, she still didn’t care too much. That time, she was their enemy. Any enemy of the Shal’rein clan had to be dealt with appropriately. At this time, the humans were now allies to her instead. Shira always kept this in mind. It was up to the humans to forget about any past grudges.

Shira walked past the woman and didn’t give any further thought to the woman. It was like background noise to her as the human whispered her curses to the towering alien.

Instead, the Shal’rein continued her walk as she made a left turn down the passageway. Something did catch her eye. It was both a human woman and an Aksren. This alone was a more curious sight for even Shira not to ignore. She knew immediately that this was an Aksren that was raised in the T’rintar clan. This was hinted at by her red and green spandex-like uniform. Unlike the Aksren clan, the Aksren of the T’rintar were friendly and passionate to everyone. They looked like anthro oviraptors. The other woman who had a dark complexion was in a red and blue marine camouflage uniform. The two were walking together, almost as if they were close in some way. Interestingly, the Aksren woman did not even notice Shira until her close proximity naturally caused her to move a little bit away.

“I am telling you we should go outside and get drunk!” the human woman told her companion in a faint accent. The two walked by Shira as she could see that the Aksren woman was smiling from her small pointed beak. The Shal’rein’s face turned lightly towards the two that was enough for her shark-like eye to note their appearances and attributes.

“Hmmm ... most interesting...” Shira commented almost quietly to herself. “An Oshunian and an Aksren ... most noted indeed.”

She remained quiet as she continued her long walk. She could see other UHN staff members. Most of them reacted the same way as they looked up at her. Her fin-like ears could hear their words. As she began to move closer and closer towards the hangar section, she could overhear something that was coming behind her.

“Ah...” Shira calmly reacted. She whispered the words to ensure that no one could hear them. “I believe I am being followed...”

She knew exactly where to go, and she passed by an open door. The foot folly was growing slightly louder. This was not like the other people that were passing by. She was tracking the specific type of boots and shoes that were tapping the ground. She could tell that it was first one individual, and now it had grown to three. She knew that these were not regular staff members trying to get to point A to point B in their day-to-day work. She very briefly smiled as she made another turn to the right. Upon turning, she could tell that the three were in a hurry. She could confirm now that these humans were after her.

Shira briefly smiled as she walked down the long passageway. Unlike the other ones, she could tell this one lead directly to the hangar bay. There was only one sliding door that was between the entrance of the bay and the crossway that she was leaving behind. This area was devoid of personnel except for the people that were closing in behind her. The footsteps were getting closer and closer. She could see a wall panel as she slowed down in her pace upon nearing it.

“There she is...,” a male voice came from behind Shira.

“That is as far as you go,” another female voice added.

Shira came to a stop. There was no scent of fear on her face as she slowly turned around to face the people that were following her.

She was looking down at the three individuals. Two of them were men, and one of them was a woman. All of them had somewhat bronze complexions that were commonplace for the people of Aphadus. Many of the people in the world had descended from former nations such as India and Pakistan of former Earth. Each person was dressed in the UHN red and blue jumpsuits. It was evident that the man that spoke to her was in the center. In his hand was an M70 pistol that was aimed directly at Shira. The other man was carrying a stun baton in his hand while the woman had a holstered pistol ready to brandish it at a moment’s notice.

“Is there a problem?” Shira calmly asked them in her deep voice.

“No accent at all...,” the lead man said in an Indian accent.

“Quite interesting to be wearing a UHN uniform, aren’t we Shal’rein?” the woman added. “Hey! I think we found her!”

The woman had raised her voice as another person came walking behind Shira from the sliding door. It had opened up as a relatively strong man came out brandishing a sub-machine gun. He had a pale complexion to him and was in a marine camouflage uniform. He was at the ready and had perfect aim at Shira’s back and tail.

All four individuals were at a pretty fair distance. They were cautious and meticulous in their actions. Even Shira knew that she was at a slight disadvantage in the situation. However, she remained disinterested.

“Your observations are quite astute,” Shira commented in a collected composure to the three in front of her. “May I ask why do you have a gun aimed at me?”

“There is only one Shal’rein that we know that wears a UHN uniform that serves at our military base,” the woman replied as she unholstered her pistol. She didn’t aim it at Shira but had it at the ready.

“Is your name Shira?” the lead man asked the Shal’rein woman.

“Yes..., but you have not answered my question,” Shira replied. “Why do you have a gun aimed at me?”

“For all good reason,” the man angrily replied. “It is true that you are her ... we heard the rumors. We know that Fleet Admiral Anaya commissioned you to work for her. You are the one that lead the attack on Aphadus!”

“And your point is?”

The man’s face snarled a little bit. Shira could see that the three in front of her displayed looks of anger at her. “Do you know that you killed my friend from that attack!?”

“They let you go ... you are a fucking butcher to us,” the woman added.

“The events that unfurled were unfortunate,” Shira replied to them.

“You can’t just reply like that and think that you can get away from that.”

“Quite the contrary,” the Shal’rein said to them. “It is true. I defected to the UHN after that attack. It was the only action on my part that could be completed with perfection.”

“Bullshit,” the man replied. “The Fleet Admiral might forgive you, but it doesn’t bring back the dead that you killed.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Shira coldly answered.

The man looked at the woman and almost laughed. “So you freely admit that you were responsible for all the deaths that happened here?”

“Yes, I did. Your planetary defenses were inadequate. My forces were freely able to...”

“Shut up!” the woman stomped her foot down. “Dalbir, we should shoot her...”

“It is why we came here,” the man replied behind Shira. “It wouldn’t take much.”

Her tail twitched very slightly to hear the man behind her step back a little bit.

“Hmmm ... most interesting,” Shira calmly replied. “You decide to outnumber me, but your actions are foolish.”

“Oh, and how so, Shal’rein?” the lead man asked her.

“You do realize that I am a member of the UHN? While possession of a firearm is not a crime, to brandish it and point it at any citizen or military staff without probable cause is a felony that can warrant the arrest for all of you. This is not including the fact that the other man holding the baton plans on threatening me with physical violence.”

“Yeah? You do realize that there are four of us? We outnumber you, and it’s our word against yours.”

“Hmmm ... indeed you do, but you have also made another grave error. There is not enough of you to stop me in combat.”

“Fuck you, Shira!” the man replied behind her. “I have a gun aimed at your back. I can gun you down in a second.”

“You are not correct. Even if you all attacked me now, you do not possess enough power in those guns to render me dead. I could still easily kill or seriously harm many of you. You do realize that you are threatening a Shal’rein?”

She turned her head to look upon the marine behind her. Her single yellow eye and pointed snout showed no hesitation of anger or malice towards him, but she kept a fierce gaze that could intimidate most men. Even the marine seemed somewhat taken back.

“Think about your actions very carefully,” Shira continued with an almost articulate emotionless tone. “Even with an SS-30 rifle that you hold, it won’t do enough to save you as my jaws sink into your throat. If you turn around, I will let this pass,” she turned her head back to the three in front of them. “If anything, I admire all of your bravery, but it is misguided and will only lead to more problems in your future.”

“Ah ... Dalbir,” the man behind Shira continued. “I think I see something that is in her back right pocket.”

“Relax and think things through,” the Shal’rein said. “Watch very carefully. I am still willing to let this go.” Their entire gaze was focused on Shira’s right hand as she slowly reached her hand to her back pocket. She was conscientious and slow with her movements as her hand went and pulled out an object. The protrusion that she had was nothing more than a small uncompleted magnum big enough to fit her four fingers.

“She has a gun...” The woman replied.

“Good observation on your part,” Shira continued. As their attention was focused on the gun, Shira’s left arm had stretched outward and towards the panel. Technically, the gun naturally caused everyone to look at it more. She made sure that the barrel was pointed away from the three and towards the wall.

“They let you have a gun?” the lead man asked.

“No. They confiscated mine when I defected to the UWA months ago.”

“You think that is supposed to scare us?”

“It is only there to ensure that I have the means to protect myself.”

“It doesn’t even look like it is functional,” the woman said.

“Oh, I assure you that it does work,” Shira answered. “I have one bullet ready to fire.”

“Only one?” the lead man asked.

“I only need one.”

Shira could see that the three in front of them had hesitated briefly. The man with the stun baton was looking nervously at the other two next to him. The woman was shaking her head as this Dalbir was intent on his actions. The Shal’rein simply kept a calm composure as her hand was away from the panel. For a moment, the Shal’rein could see that despite her efforts to dissuade them, they were still persistent.

“Dalbir ... I don’t think this is worth it,” the man told the two next to him.

“Don’t wuss out on this,” the lead man countered. “We know it is her. The UWA let a murderer go and serve amongst us. It’s up to us to take care of it.”

“I agree,” the woman said as she lifted her pistol and aimed it at Shira. “We came here for a purpose. She can’t stop us all.”

“I, however, disagree with your assessment,” Shira answered as she pulled the trigger to her gun.

With that, a powerful round exploded from the chamber. It took them off guard as the gun had gone off. The shot traveled to exactly where it was aiming. It struck the wall and penetrated it enough that it hit something inside. The chain reaction was monumental as the entire passageway section sent off an explosion of shrapnel and debris. Most of the blast was more of a concussive force that resulted in expelling the three directly into the other side of the wall. All of them were knocked out immediately. The explosion was deafening. It was enough that even Shira felt it and her hearing momentarily rung a little bit, although most of this was because the uncompleted magnum had no form of sound suppressor built into it. She was expecting this, however. Her hearing physiology even allowed her to handle some of the explosive blasts from the gunshot and explosion.

Simultaneously, Shira knew precisely what she was doing as she hunched over and turned around as quickly as possible. Her large shark tail swung around to her rear. She threw the uncompleted magnum directly into the marine’s face. She knew that the man behind her was momentarily shocked. She had to get out of the way of the aim of the rifle. Much to her expectation, the marine was stunned by the combination of all the things that happened at once. Shira was onto him as she leaped at him. Amazingly, the man managed to pull the trigger of his rifle but, the Shal’rein was quicker. It barely grazed the right portion of her right breast as the bullet continued to travel forward outward, ricocheting around.

Before the marine knew it, Shira was on top of him. Despite how strong he was, Shira was more prominent and more robust. Her left hand grabbed and ripped the rifle from his hand as her right gripped his throat very carefully.

The marine was stunned as his eyes went wide. She could see the fear in his eyes as she knew that she had him. His ears were still ringing as she shoved him to the ground with a decisive toss from her arm. His body went sliding as he could still see what Shira was doing. The alien woman went and placed her hands on the rifle. She pressed the magazine release switch removing the magazine where she tossed it behind her. She then pulled the charging handle back with her two fingers to eject the unspent caseless round to the ground. She then threw the gun to the side as she could hear the alarms going off.

As the sound of the alert signal was sounding off, Shira decided to rest her back to the wall. Her tail fin stuck to the side as she stood comfortably to the back. There was no fire from the explosion. It was exactly what she envisioned what would happen. Most of her attention was directed at the three that were unconscious while keeping an eye on the marine every now and then. He was in no position to fight as he had been appropriately disarmed. The Shal’rein then decided to reach into her back pocket to pull out a small tin container. She opened it up to reveal a series of large cigarettes. She took one and put it to her mouth. Using a lighter, she lit it as she inhaled the delicate burning tobacco-like material. Taking a deep whiff of it, she relished the thought of everything that was about to happen. There was no remorse for her actions. She only envisioned everything that she had to explain as she waited for the authorities to arrive...

“What the hell?” Javier said to himself as he was walking down the passageway. “I really hope this doesn’t have to relate to me somehow.”

The Lieutenant was well dressed in his red and blue officer’s uniform. The red cloak-like piece behind him waved around slightly as the other working personnel would nod their heads or briefly look at him. Most were used to seeing the officer’s face by now.

It was about thirty minutes after the warning alarm had been called out. An explosion had occurred at the base, but it was nothing significant. The overhead announcement had told everyone that an accident had occurred near the hangar bay passageway. It was nothing to be concerned about, but he could hear somebody mention that military police were arresting several individuals. The accident was something more than it apparently seemed.

He was being summoned to the Fleet Admiral’s stateroom. The fact that he was called in had to be related to the recent incident. He could not go to the passageway that had the explosion while he tried to find the hallway that led to the top COC’s room. Eventually, he found it. The floor was carpeted with red and blue. It had both the UHN emblem and the seal of Aphadus woven into it. The sliding door near the carpet was transparent colored. It was the only hint that it was best to be on your best behavior when going down this area. The Fleet Admiral may be watching you.

Javier took a deep breath. He was not in the mood for the events that most likely needed his attention. He put his hand to his neatly trimmed beard. His face had a very light tinge to his complexion. It was not uncommon for people to mistaken him from the colony of Palora due to his ancestry being mixed from people of Central and South America of former Earth. He looked at his uniform real quick before he reached the door. He wanted to look his best. His red boots looked pristine. It was a habit that he knew was becoming of an officer.

“Stop stalling,” Javier said to himself. “There has to be a good reason you are being called to the office. Why do I have a feeling that it has to be about ‘her’ somehow?”

He gripped his knuckles. He was not necessarily afraid of the fleet admiral, but he knew that anything that could upset the status quo wasn’t good either. His position was good enough at the military base as it was.

He stopped thinking about it as he walked up next to the door. He saw the panel by the door as he tapped the button on it. There was no time wasted as it slid open. That alone almost took Javier by surprise. Usually, Anaya would keep it closed and wait to see who it was before she let the person in. Javier almost poked his head in before he snapped himself out of it and stepped in. He had a brief glimpse of the interior before he stepped inside.

“Lieutenant Javier, reporting as requested, Ma’am,” Javier addressed himself as he rendered a proper salute to the top chain of the command. Fleet Admiral Anaya was sitting behind her metal enshrined desk. She wasn’t too pleased even though she was the type that was reasonable to many. Her bronze complexion and short black hair reflected that of a woman directly descended from former India of Earth. Her twin star rank was one that was that represented an overseer of the entire Aphadus defense fleet. While he had rarely seen her in the last month, he knew one that was all too familiar with her.

The room itself was the typical Fleet Admiral stateroom. It was spacious and consisted of numerous plaques and awards hung on the walls. It had multiple projection screens near her desk that showed the camera feeds throughout the interior and exterior of the base. Anaya was dressed in a similar officer uniform, but her rank said it all. The stateroom consisted of numerous chairs that allowed officers to regularly arrive and leave.

“Lieutenant Javier, you may have a seat on the right,” Anaya coldly told him. She didn’t even bother to render a salute in return. This alone showed that she was somewhat emotionally disturbed by whatever had happened.

“Understood, ma’am,” Javier replied as he dropped his salute. He turned to look at everything in better detail. The room consisted of four individuals that were in shackles. He could recognize that three of the personnel are UHN members, with the other being a marine. Another person was one that he knew all too well. Shira was sitting at another series of chairs, but it was away from the four people. There were a series of guards that were also in the room that were all properly armed. The severity was all but apparent as Javier went and found a comfortable chair closest to the wall.