Bound Curiosity sits hunched in her chair, knees pressed together and hands clasped around a crumpled packet of Dromedarys. Her red-rimmed eyes are wet, and she roughly rubs a hand over them, continuing to look down at the table as she speaks, her tone wavering, barely holding it together.
“Why am I even here? I already told the Captain and the Chief Engineer what happened.”
She sighs at the answer, tearing at the corner of the packet.
“Formality..right.” A deep breath in. “Like I told them, I was teaching my assistant how to deal with anomalies, search patterns, containment and removal, basic stuff. It was...it was their first day. The uhm, the CE let me know over command comms that the anomaly was in the antechamber of the supermatter, always gotta remove those. So she let us in, closed the shutters and left. I showed my assistant how to scan the anomaly and set up the APE, they set it to the containment particles, and after a couple pulses it was decayed.”
She takes a deep shuddering breath, fingers digging into her arms.
“It happened over..not more than four seconds. I was about to hand them the wrench, and the SM..it just..appeared behind them. And...they...turned into it..vaporized in a second, didn’t even scream. I’ve never...I’ve never seen that happen to anyone...I know that’s what it does but..”
She pauses as a nearly empty vodka bottle is placed on the table, face contorting and brow furrowing, listening to the next question.
“I wasn’t drunk! I always grab a bottle to deal with radiation sickness from artifacts, I don’t take more than a sip and I wasn’t the only person using it today!”
Her breathing quickens, shoulders tensing and spines flexing as she becomes more agitated. Lashing out as a defensive measure.
“Why would I even want to hurt them? I care about people! I care about science and teaching and peoples fucking lives! I would never do anything to harm somebody in my care!”
Her breathing is erratic now, the gills on her neck flaring as she spirals. Then the door opens and her head snaps to it, the sight causing her shoulders to instantly relax, her breathing growing calmer in a moment. An older man stands in the doorway, a lit cigarette pinched between thin lips. He is tall and thin, dark brown hair just starting to gray combed and set, his deep blue CC suit immaculately tailored. His face is the perfect placid mask, ice blue eyes locked on Nash even as he moves to stand beside Bound, dropping a pack of Dromedarys on the table. His voice is smooth and soft, carrying the smugness of someone who knows exactly how much they are worth.
“Officer Nash, I am terribly sorry, but I must cut this interview short. The Captain already gave his statement, and new information from the Chief Engineer has cleared this matter up completely. There is no need to waste anymore of your precious time.”
He ushers the young thaven up and out the door, passing her a silver lighter and waiting until she leaves to turn around. His voice now carries a sharp edge of threat, the mask still in play, only his true feelings revealed by razor thin pupils.
“In future I would highly advise you take a more careful look at employee profiles, Nanotrasen does so hate when someone oversteps their...jurisdiction. If this happens again I will have to suggest some...re-evaluation.”
He smiles, but it holds no mirth, even as his eyes close in the facsimile of pleasantness.
“Have a good evening, Ms. Nash.”
He closes the door, leaving the scent of mystery and smoke.