A Difference of "Opinion"

Posted on Tue Jul 7th, 2026 @ 9:47pm by Lonian Royal Sovereignty & Commander Rin & Lieutenant Colonel Azhul Naxea & Commander Kyle Reece & Lieutenant Commander Tate Sullivan Ph.D.

Mission: Season 6: Episode 7: Crossroads of Destiny
Location: Niea IV : Detention Centre (true location unknown)
Timeline: MD4 - late morning
1347 words - 2.7 OF Standard Post Measure

A bunch of transporter beams appeared, depositing the Elysium crew and the guards who had approached them into an enclosed room. No windows were present to indicate where they had gone; it was just an empty space and guards waiting for them. Including the guards that transported in, there were easily at least two guards per person.

Rin had expected to hit sand as she threw herself over the object that had suddenly landed at their feet. Instead, having been transported mid jump, she crashed into a cold, hard floor. She clocked her right brow good and the room momentarily spun. On the plus side, the object had not exploded. She was clearly intact. On the other hand, they had clearly been transported somewhere far less friendly than the beach.

Hands grabbed her by both arms and dragged her to her feet. She took the moment to size up the room. Lots of soldiers. Soldiers wearing the uniform of the Lonian military, just like the two who had approached Tate. So not mercenaries or outside agitators. That was good. It suggested this was more like an arrest than a kidnapping.

No windows. One door. Not a lot else.

Naxea materialized. Acting on instinct from the slap to her side as she felt a presence close, where Kevar had been standing in the alley, she threw an elbow backwards, feeling it hit someone solid as a cry rang out. She pivoted on her heel immediately.

Kevar stumbled back, touching his face as blood started coming out of his nose.

To her credit, Tate's confusion about the sudden transport lifted quickly as she focused her attention on her new surroundings. She didn't have much time to make sense of things, however, before she was aware of the scuffle near her periphery and Rin's hard fall in front of her. Perhaps Sullivan's first instinct should have been to prepare to fight, but it wasn't. Instead, just as she moved to check on Rin, she realized Rin was already being pulled roughly to her feet by guards wearing the uniforms she recognized from the guards on the beach. They weren't looking so desperate now.

Once the transport completed, some of the guards raised their weapons toward the Elysium crew, a series of hums giving away their power cycling, while others approached, handcuffs at the ready. The weapons were small, no bigger than hand phasers, but a faint crackle of energy from the tips hinted to a rather unpleasant tase if hit. "By order of the Sovereignty, you are under arrest for misprision of treason!" One of the guards barked. "You are ordered to surrender!"

"Usually people surrender before the arrest," Rin projected, keeping her hands in plain sight. "Makes it looks less like a kidnapping. Handcuffs aren't necessary unless you're looking for a diplomatic incident."

"How can we be guilty of treason if you were seeking our help into the investigation of alleged treason by someone else?" Tate reasoned calmly. She was merely guessing Naxea was approached in the same way Tate and Rin were, but even if she wasn't, Tate wasn't going to give up on reason out of fear. She didn't entirely trust this wasn't a ruse meant to look like a legitimate process, but if it was a legitimate legal process - legitimate only in the sense the guards believed they could get compliance by making it seem as if they were following procedure - she wasn't going to be intimidated into staying silent.

Naxea stepped towards Kevar, ready to spring into action. "You lying phekk'ta!"

Two guards immediately went for Naxea, cutting her off from Kevar. They made contact with her shoulders and shoved her back. A third came over, readying the taser in case she responded.

The plainclothes Lonian simply smirked at her before he retreated further behind the guards.

Naxea grabbed the wrist of one of the officers' outstretched arm as he shoved her, yanking him towards her,keeping a vice grip on his wrist as she twisted and pushed the officer hard into the officer with the taser, charging immediately, reaching for the taser.

"Shit-!" The one guard stumbled into the one holding the taser, and as she fell backwards the taser slipped from her grip and clattered on the ground. There was a very brief pause as the guard realised that there was a loose weapon, and then she scrambled to try and grab it before Naxea did.

Naxea slammed her foot into the guard's chin as she rushed, diving for the weapon as she picked it up and jabbed the taser to the stumbling guard's neck that she had kick. She spun to grab the other guard she had shoved, hoping to use him as a shield

The female guard cried out, then her noises reduced to a gurgle as the tase stunned her.

At the same time, more guards approached Tate and Rin, leaving their comments largely unanswered. They positioned themselves to separate the two so the guards could grab Tate and pull her to her feet as well. "Save it for questioning," one commented.

Tate knew Naxea well enough to know she wasn't about to accept being a prisoner given all she'd been through, and in that moment Sullivan could recognize the difference between a trauma response and what some might label "moxy" or courage. If Tate had thought she could free herself and the rest of the crew by fighting back physically, she would have, but in this moment, she knew they were outnumbered and she feared what would be done to the rest of them if she were lucky enough to get the upperhand. Sullivan needed more information to formulate a way through this.

She just hoped no one would be too badly hurt in the meantime.

Banking on the sense she had that these guards needed more than just their numbers and weaponry to feel in control, as the earlier hesitation and desperation from the guards she and Rin had met on the beach suggested, Tate raised her hands in the air to indicate she was not going to resist. Perhaps cooperation on her part would lead them to become complacent and allow some things to be revealed?

Seeing surrender, or compliance at the very least, a female guard approached and reached for Tate's hands. Another did the same to Rin. They brought their hands together in front of their bodies and applied the handcuffs, a faint hum and a click indicating that the locking mechanism was engaged.

Looking over at Rin, Tate offered, "I guess I can cross getting unjustly arrested off my bucket list.” it wasn’t perhaps the best time to crack jokes, but Sullivan was genuinely apprehensive, and finding cure in the situation, was her way of coping and trying to focus on someone beside herself.

"They've made a liar out of me," Rin replied. "I was musing yesterday about how we had finally found people in this galaxy who weren't out to get us."

As the fight continued between Naxea and the guard she had grabbed, the door opened and a tall Lonian, tall at five feet eight inches, stepped into the room. He was carrying a phaser rifle and didn't hesitate in his movements. He leveled the rifle and shot both Naxea and the guard she was holding. Thankfully, the rifle was set on heavy stun.

The stun beam caused Naxea to drop the taser and fall unconscious on top of the guard. The last thing she felt were hands grabbing her.

The Lonian with the rifle barked an order to the rest. "Get them seperated, processed locked away, now! If I have to come back in here and tell you to do your jobs again, each one of you will wish you had chosen to become bakers instead!"

A series of acknowledgement came from the guards in an almost eerily unified "Sir!" Two guards picked up Naxea and dragged her away, and the remaining guards grabbed Rin and Tate by the arms to guide them onwards.