A guard with a bright yellow badge, denoting them as the one in charge interrupted her thoughts. “Captain Posey! You arrived earlier than expected. We weren’t certain it was you.”

“You received a call before we left and the same landing clearance code from me on the waves less than twenty minutes ago. What more were you expecting?”

“Punctuality.” He had stopped at a nearby door that was open. “Luckily we aren’t too busy and were already preparing for the meeting an hour from now. But first, we need to prove you are who you said you are.”

She pulled her sleeve down to reveal the spot on her wrist where her biochip was inserted. She covered the scars created by the biochip by connecting her beauty marks into a nebula tattoo, the first place of her active combat duty. “Scan this so we can all move on. If you don’t, I will personally have the Commodore call you for this pointless security.”

The gorgon’s snakes hissed, but he raised his scanner. They looked warm and dry, unlike Ilise’s own gorgon officer whose snakes were curled up in a silent nest and barely moving. On his docupad a screen popped up with her face. It listed her as the Captain of the Darkstorm, a military vessel of a rank so low that it barely needed mentioning. One that felt like an insult to her rank and history, even the parts not redacted. She knew the Darkstorm was the best ship in the Cadoon military and she was the captain of it, but she could not brag. The best position of her entire career and she could not even tell her own family. The other side of the coin came with the disadvantage of if she failed this mission and lost her rank, everyone would hear about it. Not the Darkstorm’s failure, no. It would be Captain Posey losing her rank and maybe even being disgracefully discharged from the Cadoon military. Even without a discharge, she would never rise above a junior officer rank again. Wasting time and failing were the same thing. “I’ll tell you this, most of my crew is going to show up very similarly. Scan their biochips and let them in.”

“Why does everyone on your ship need to be allowed in?”

Her finger landed on a particular paragraph that was completely covered in black except for the word ‘medal’. “You don’t have the clearance to know that.”

The man grumbled. “This is not a typical procedure. You know without rules we have chaos. And chaos always ends back here.”

“It's not typical that the military is trying to reminisce about the past with someone on death row. Is the prisoner going by the code name ‘Alice’ ready? Eviction number is 0879462.” 

The guard looked over the pad, and tapped at the information of Ilise, but stopped. “No. Again, we were not expecting you for another hour. Does the Captain need anything else?”

The man was trying to objectify her, but she sneered back, revealing her fangs completely in a show of command. “I don't need you delaying these interviews further,” she hissed out between her fangs. “Have the prisoner prepared and brought to a proper interrogation room. Scan Commander Sisyphus next, he will be joining me. Make sure the other members of the prisoner’s crew are prepared as well. I want my medic scanning them for any loose chips hiding in their bodies. I don’t care if it's already been done.”

The guard looked calm but the snakes on his head were hissing and curling up, trying to hide from a predator. 

She pointed further down the hall. “Lead me to the interrogation room for the prisoners now.”

There was no more arguing. He pushed a button on his comm. “Only scan their biochips. If it shows a bunch of black lines. Let them in.”

The planet was surrounded by the deadliest wave and the only ships that were allowed in were the prison transport and delivery ones or military vessels approved via months of negotiations and pre-screenings. The fact that the Darkstorm was able to land during an active wave event without the help of the prison staff was sign enough that the ship should be here. Ilise’s redacted bio was a plus. When Sisyphus was scanned and revealed a much longer bio with just as many black lines, it was another point in her column. The guard saluted Sisyphus. Two points in her column. Men.