Inter-Galactic Relations

Silence

Silence

Anonymous Me
@Missvibes

Stetzon stood just inside the front doors of the building and signed into the portal with his identification code. The doors slid open and he stepped inside. Red dust covered the entryway carpet and he could wipe his shoes off on it, but that wouldn’t really do any good. It would just kick up more sand. Didn’t matter how many times they cleaned the rug in a day, it was just a disaster waiting to happen after about 20 people walked through the door. Some of the sand was thick, like a clay and other parts of it fluffed everywhere in a fine little grains.

Sliding into his station Stetzon unlocked his work pad and started to look through the notifications. There was one that blinked urgent and he rolled his eyes. More than likely it was another one of those stupid dealers trying to get off Quoti. Those dealers were just sore losers. It was too bad they lost the war, but they needed to let it be. There were new Elders now and the planet was finally at peace.

Instead of the usual arms deal that could result in a potential uprising it turned out to be something highly alarming. Some of the arms dealers had actually made it off Quoti and out of the immediate system. Who knew what sort of trouble they’d make now. Some of these cases got passed to everyone in the department, just so they would know what was going on if they got called for backup, but this time Stetzon was listed as the guy on lead. At the end of the short brief his calendar auto populated meetings, further debriefing, and assigned him an assistant to ensure that he got proper flights to Earth. He’d never been as far as Earth and he wasn’t even sure what to expect. Already he was starting to wonder a little bit about it. Earth was typically considered restricted. Many other planets knew about each other and the existence of other species, but Earth was odd. There were strict rules about blending and not causing alarm and panic among the humans. This was going to require a whole 3 days of training. Typically he would be leaving by the afternoon on a flight and especially for something so emergent, but he had to train to be sure he would not be alarming to the human race. The first part of the debriefing was set to start in only half an hour. Stetzon sighed and collected his bag. It was time to go again.

*****************************************

Northwest United States Earth Territory Office of Inter-galactic Affairs,
There was a report sent to Quoti some weeks ago. There is a dangerous criminal of Chippequoti origins in the Northwest Territory Office’s district. Please be advised that we are sending an arms specialist to deal with this case. Our specialist has been properly debriefed for the mission. Included is his name, height, build, weight, hair color, eye color, and Inter-Galactic Police Number.
Name: Stetzon Silver-Bear Octova 81 of Julius
Height: Average / 6’9”
Build: Athletic
Weight: 400lbs.
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Green
Inter-Galactic Police Number: 29530000046261
Please pass this information on to the officer that will be overseeing the case. All of our officers are of the highest quality, training, and we, the Elders invest the power in the Chief Counsel of the Illegal Arms Dealing Office of Quoti to deploy officers as needed to deal with criminals in their range of specialty. Any Officer of Quoti will carry their papers and qualifications with them at all times. They are to be ready for inspection at your request.
With high regards,
Chief Counsel of the Illegal Arms Dealing Office of Quoti & the Elders of the Chippequoti.

The letter was brief and it contained only the bare minimum of detail. Looking over the letter the chief decided to deliver it by hand to his investigator. Illegal arms dealing sounded like it was a little out of the usual field agent’s job description. Setting the copy of the letter down on the desk the boss grinned. “They encrypted it, couldn’t be forwarded to anyone. So….A little different story than usual. You might like a change of pace. By the way, we don’t even have record of hosting a Chippequoti in this office before. You’ll be the first lucky one.” With a tap of their finger on the letter they nodded their head and started back for their office again. This was the investigator’s problem now.

*************************************************
The outer station that made the first check was about average. Stetzon found that this particular station had small pods though. He didn’t have a pinch of fat on him, and yet he was squished into the little pod headed for earth. They were going to drop him somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Couldn’t be having people see him land in a pod. People on Earth were very odd that way. Even after his additional training Stetzon couldn’t say that he felt prepared to land on Earth.

Aside from room inside the pod, it also lacked comfortable seats. Stetzon’s knees were almost to his chin, his shoulders were pressed on either side of his seat and the buckles dug in. By the time he landed he felt a little stiff. Pushing the door open to the miniature capsule he groaned and started to wiggle his way out of it. Reaching behind the seat he grabbed his pack and then followed the agent sent to pick him up.

Stetzon’s jaw dropped when he saw a very outdated piece of machinery, but he quickly closed his mouth again. He wasn’t really supposed to say anything about their technology. Sliding into the front seat of the car he started to sit up straight and instead hit his head on the ceiling of the vehicle. If this was how small all the people of Earth were he wondered if his feet would hang off their beds. More than likely.

At long last he arrived at the office where he would receive his next level of debriefing for his deployment on Earth. Stepping into the small room that appeared something like a child’s school room he pulled one of the chairs out and sat down on it. A loud creak sounded as the chair protested his weight and Stetzon narrowed his eyes slightly. He wondered if that chair would hold him up. Resting his big brown hands on the small desk he tapped his fingers absent mindedly while looking around the room. It was plain, small and lacking interest. It looked to be about right for a debriefing room. Now all he had to do was wait for the officer that would be monitoring his activity to show up, or whoever did the debriefing.
 
It had started as a typical day at the office. Noelle had made her morning appearances at various debriefings with the higher ups and at the 'Introduction to Earth' class. The classes ranged from first time visitors, to others transferring into the territory. Her superiors always made it clear it was important that those coming into the territory be familiar with who she was. At least so the visitors would know it was not a good thing if she showed up to 'chat' about their behavior. For the most part, things stayed quiet in the Northwest. Not like some of the other territories that had inter galactic crime running rampant.

After lunch, the woman was able to settle into her office to read through reports from her field officers. Her long dark hair had been braided and then pinned up, by mid afternoon it was starting to frizz a bit and frays of hair framed her face. A well manicured hand held onto her cup of tea as she browsed through the various reports. Cows were attacking vehicles again in Idaho. Bigfoot was seen in Oregon and now a team of 'scientists' were going to investigate. The woman shook her head and sighed. All of it was usual and her agents were able to resolve it on their own. However, one of the reports was marked as a red level. Typically that meant it needed more investigation and possibly needed a higher level to oversee it.

Noelle was carefully reading the report, her lips moved as she mouthed out some of the sentences. She ended up having to read it a few times to get all of the information. There had been whisperings on the underground market of a new set of weapons becoming available. In her line of work, 'whispers' could not be ignored. Especially ones about greater technology than what was currently available to the general populace. Of course with what these weapons were promising, she knew they were not of their own known world. Already it seemed other countries were becoming interested and would be sending buyers into the area.

She forwarded the information to her superior. It was only moments before he was in her doorway. His steely gray eyes locking into her green eyes. "Weapon dealings?" She nodded in response. "Its not weapons that I'm quite familiar with. I checked the database and it came up-" Her boss raised a hand to stop her, "The Chippequoti." Again, she nodded. It wasn't a race she had encountered. From the brief reading, there really wasn't much known about them. "I'll take it from here Noelle. When I have an update, I'll let you know."

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Only about a day had passed before Noelle received an update. One of the Chippequoti would be arriving within the week to assist in the investigation. More information would come as the date got closer. For the time being she was given a little more information about the race. Though it was more about dress code than anything else. It seemed her usual business attire may offend the visitor. Other than that, he may mostly look like a larger version of a human. Not much else was known.

On the day of the arrival, the American made sure to wear slacks, blouse, and a matching jacket. Her long hair was pinned up as usual. Now, she at least had a name of who she would be working with. Her field agent had continued to give her information as to what was being said on the streets and if any other newcomers had come to the area; alien or not. It was important to make sure the technology did not leave the area. She was filing her information on her tablet when a quiet knock came to her door.

"The Chippequoti is here." The driver looked out of place in his street attire. "Hes a real doozy. Have fun." He laughed and continued on. Noelle sighed and made her way to the room where he was waiting. She knocked firmly before opening the door to let herself in. The man was quite large, especially in comparison to the furniture.

She set her tablet on the table and reached out a hand to him. "Hello Stetzon Silver-Bear Octova 81 of Julius. I'm Noelle." After the quick introduction, she pushed a few buttons on the tablet to create images of the documents and pictures above the table. "Thank you for coming all this way to help with the investigation. I will be working with you to.. Well ideally resolve any issue that may be happening here." Her green eyes scanned over the Chippequoti. "Would you prefer a larger chair?"
 
There was a knock on the door after Stetzon had sat in it only a few minutes. At leas they held the general standard of prompt attention to new arrivals. That was something he'd read about Earth. They liked to monitor new arrivals closely. He would have turned to greet whoever the officer was, but even doing so much as breathing made the chair creak. A first impression wasn't usually a great one if you started off breaking things. The one over seeing him was a woman and Stetzon watched as she placed her tablet on the table between them.

Of course there came the dreaded greeting. The one that Stetzon knew was going to come. He had to shake her hand. One of the agents that had been deployed somewhere else told him that a lot of times humans had cold hands and it felt kinda gross. Usually the Chippequoti were quite warm and they preferred everything warm. Stetzon took hold of her hand and had to remind himself not to squeeze it because he'd also been told an officer accidentally broke a human's hand when he got too nervous and shook the hand a bit vigorously. Getting the handshake right was a bit awkward. He watched the woman's face carefully to make sure he wasn't hurting her hand, but it was cold...at least her fingers weren't slimy.

"Eh...Noelle." Nodding in response to her self introduction he let her hand go and immediately rubbed it on the side of his leg to get rid of that cool feeling. The only thing he found especially confusing was the way humans had so many little social rules. First she thanked him and that was something he was told would happen and then the unexpected part came. Stetzon had been told never to refuse hospitality offered by a human. They took offense quite easily. She didn't know him and she was already trying to be hospitable and offer him another chair. Since he couldn't refuse he stood and moved the chair over he'd been sitting on. "Yes. Do I go get it?"

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as he rubbed his hand on his leg. Had she done something wrong? She decided it probably wasn't anything offensive and carried on. Though when he stood up, his size was even more foreboding than when he had been sitting and she took a step back. Noelle shook her head 'no'. "l will have someone bring it. Was there anything else you would like? A beverage, perhaps?"

It seemed the woman was uncomfortable suddenly and Stetzon didn't know why. He leaned a little closer to try and see if he could read what her facial expression meant. Her reaction was very strange. She simply reverted to hospitality again and he wondered if this was some sort of custom he was supposed to take part in. Was he supposed to offer her something too? His training missed something. Since he couldn't refuse he moved away from her slightly and nodded, "Yes." Then she specified her offering as a beverage. There were a few words he didn't know as well. "A beverage is good." Bending over he grabbed his pack and opened it up to reveal a few quart sized ration packets. "You would like to eat?"

When he leaned closer, she instinctively leaned back. His response for a drink was somewhat odd, but Noelle didn't put a lot into that. There wasn't a lot they knew about his native language. Instead of asking what kind of drink he wanted, she figured water would be a safe bet. After she made a quick call for the larger chair and waters, Noelle noticed he had brought out some of his food packets. Her green eyes scanned over them curiously. It was a few moments before she nodded, "Yes, sure." A knock came to the door and she opened it for the delivery of the larger chair and waters.

Stetzon could have given a sigh of relief. It seemed he finally got past this part of the odd customs. Perhaps that was how this was supposed to be done. He'd have to remember to get some more rations from this office supply section. There was no telling how many humans he would have to go through this tradition with. Pulling out the first two he grinned. "Meh favorite. Snake and wild desert grass eh..." Picking up the next two he squinted at one and read it while trying to translate it properly into English. "Scar...Scarpio....Mmm Scorpions! Yes, scorpion legs and sweet broth with desert grass." The last one he set on the table and grimaced. "I think maybe the assistant rubbed the label off because she knows I don't like the wild catepillar and desert flower. If you like the best meal I recommend the snake and wild desert grass."

Her face froze as he read the labels, it kept her expressionless. Finally she blinked a few times. Noelle thought the foods while out in the field was interesting, but this was going to be quite different. Sometimes other races had shared 'delicacies' as well. However it seemed easier when she didn't know what was in it. "Sounds interesting. At some point, we'll need to familiarize you with typical Earth food as well."

"Mmhmm." Stetzon nodded a little and he reached into his bag and pulled out a small field knife. It was almost a bowie for anyone on earth, but it was small for him. Making a little slice in one packet he watched it expand while it cooked and then made the next one. "I will get more food before we leave. There will be many times for this custom yes?" Since she hadn't said which food struck her fancy he made the scorpion legs and one ration of the snake. Once they were done cooking he opened the scorpion legs and stirred the little legs about with a look of glee on his face. "Ooh, I have very good scorpion legs. The brown ones with some hair are best." Next he opened the snake ration to reveal an entire snake body with the head still attached. "Just wait, for this one." Taking the small stick provided in the packet he rubbed it along the inside of the snake's jaw and it latched onto the wood. "It is dead, but the jaw still works. We leave the head on because the meat stays more fresh when we travel with it." With his knife he chopped the snake's head of and tossed it into the garbage can a few feet away. There was a satisfying clunk and he pushed both foods into the middle. "Maybe you would like to eat a little of both?"

When he mentioned 'custom', her head tilted to the side as she considered the statement. Perhaps he was talking about eating in general, so she nodded in agreement. Eating was definitely something that happened quite often. At some point during his preparation of the food, her mouth opened and her eyes went wide. Though Noelle seemed aware of her expression before he noticed and shut her mouth. "Yes, of course." At least there would be water to help wash it down. Even though she had done some traveling in her time around her own planet and tried different foods, majority of the time those foods were cooked. The scorpion legs and snake looked rather minimally cooked in comparison. "Is it appropriate to begin the debriefing while we... partake of the meal?" When in doubt about a culture, it generally seemed okay to ask.

Since she didn't seem familiar with the foods Stetzon picked up one scorpion leg and broke it before sucking the juice out of one end and then the other. He wanted to be sure that she knew how to eat them. Then he took the little prong in the snake packet and filleted a few pieces of the snake out and ate one bite then offered for her to try. At last she mentioned the debriefing. "Yes...I thought you would never ask." For the moment he lost his sense of diplomacy. "We don't have so many customs when we debrief. There is no beverage and no food and no talking. Just debriefing."

Noelle nodded. "On Earth, debriefings have quite the variety. Depending on the content and where you are." She didn't envy those coming to the planet for the first time. Generally there weren't a lot of specific rules for social settings, as it depended largely on what part of the world you were in. Though it was beginning to occur to her that his offerings had been in effort to reflect the offers she had been giving. Just something to continue working with. She took the piece of snake, luckily it was small, and put it in her mouth. It seemed she was chewing it for a long time. Noelle picked up one of the bottles of water to take a drink and eventually swallow. "That is.. Quite different from what we typically eat." She gave a quick smile before motioning to the images that were still floating above the table. "Feel free to move the documents and pictures around." The woman moved her hands over the images to show him how they moved. "Here are the descriptions of the weaponry. As far as we know, it has not been shown to anyone. Though-" She moved the document and brought up a picture, "Most of the rumors seem to be coming from this man."

The woman took a little bite of the food and Stetzon figured she was pleased to eat slowly. That was fine by him. He had a lot of work to get started on. It was nice that she let him take control of the pad. Reading in so much English took him a while longer than if it had been in Quoti and some of the words he had to read a few times to understand what they meant, but he was getting there.

Moving the slide over to the image of a man that most of the rumors were populating from Stetzon shook his head. "He's not Chippequoti." Pointing to the image he zoomed in on him. "He has beard and brown eyes." Those were both things that a Chip would never have. "No Chippequoti has brown eyes, not even mixes. I'm not all Chippequoti and that is why my eyes are green. Any full blooded Chip has blue eyes. Dark Chippequoti do not have any body hair. No beards." Looking at the image he sighed and studied it a while longer. "I know the weapons are Chip, but I think this man is face for a criminal. Someone very good."

Sliding the images over to the weapons his frown deepened. "These images are things that you have?" Nodding to her answer he sighed and set the pad down long enough to get a few more bites of food. "It looks like there are some modifications and these would be very dangerous." He didn't like the way it was looking. This sort of change on a weapon could indicate a number of things. Pulling his own pad out he let it hover over hers for a moment before he thought to ask. "You unlock the files for me and I will download just what you unlock?" Once it was unlocked he hovered his pad over hers again and expanded them on his pad while making furious notes on his keypad. He only hit about 2-3 keys at the most each time and then a symbol would pop up.

Chippequoti was written in runes and it was based off memorization of the symbols more than anything. There wasn't a way to spell words. English was difficult to keep track of with creating words all the time. "Thank you. It is much easier to make note not using the common tongue." Stetzon was horrible at spelling and he didn't need the woman to know that he had trouble reading his own version of written English when it was done.

For the afternoon he let her bring up images on her pad and he would follow along on his pad while sneaking bites of food and making notes in Quoti. Every now and then he'd see her look over at his pad and he'd turn it around so she could see. Not that the Quoti symbols would do her any good, but if she wanted to see if he was on the same page as her, he didn't mind.

By the end of the night Stetzon had his fill of food. The woman wasn't very hungry. She barely nibbled here or there. Perhaps she had a much smaller stomach and it did not accommodate much food. His only other theory was that she had a slow metabolism. Chippequoti had to eat a lot of food to keep up with the energy that their body burned just to exist. Since they were done for the day Stetzon cleaned up his area of stuff and packed all the unused rations neatly into his pack again along with the knife and then he followed the escort waiting for him outside to another small car. From there he was driven into a town and he got a hotel room. It was an inn of sorts. There were halls and floors full of doors that lead to rooms. No one traveled that much on Quoti and so it was uncommon to see such a place.

Wandering through the fourth hall he came to his door and slid the card in the slot and then waited. The door didn't open or do anything. It just flashed a green and then red light. Stetzon tried the key again and it still didn't work. Then he decided to perhaps try and prompt the door open. This time when he slid the card he pushed on the door and then pushed a little more insistently till he heard something crack. That wasn't a good sound. For a brief second he got nervous and looked all around the hall before trying his door again. He couldn't push on it and he'd slid the card a few times and the door...it must have been manual. Stetzon felt dumb after that. A wave of red washed over his face as he slid his card again and then grabbed the handle and pushed down on it and then the door swung open. Quickly stepping inside he set his pack down and sighed. Just like he thought...the bed was small.
 
The debriefing seemed to go well. The only 'suspect' they had was likely just a lead to the person they wanted. Still someone they needed to find more about through investigation. "We don't have any direct images of the weapons they are trying to sell. These are what we were able to put together based on the descriptions given on the street." At least Stetzon found the images recognizable, though it was beginning to sound like a bigger mess than they originally thought. Someone was modifying the technology and there was no telling how that would end up. More than likely, it wouldn't be good. Noelle downloaded the information onto his pad and she got a sneak peek at what his language looked like. Almost seemed like hieroglyphics, but that was likely from not seeing something like it before.

Once their meeting was complete, Noelle helped him tidy up the room a bit. "Your lodging will be nearby. Its a hotel." It seemed he had at least heard of the concept of the hotel. "Someone will take you there when you're ready and I'll be there in the morning to pick you up for our next part of the investigation." The woman tapped a few things onto her phone, "If you hold out your pad, I'll give you my contact information. Just in case you need anything when we're not together." Through briefly touching her phone to his pad, it would download onto it. "I'm not sure if you were given in protocol for while you stay here on Earth..." She paused briefly for a response. "Not many know what we're investigating. If you need to go anywhere that involves social interaction, please contact me so I can go with you. We don't need anyone tipped off that you're here." Noelle emphasized and paged for his escort. It wasn't long before the driver from earlier arrived to meet with the Chippequoti.

"Hey man!" He lifted his hand as if to do some sort of secret handshake or high five with Stetzon. Noelle just frowned and then rolled her eyes with a shake of her head. "Please just make sure he gets checked into his hotel. We don't want what happened last time..." The driver sighed, "Yes ma'am." He gave a half-hearted salute as she walked back to her office to finishing packing up for the day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once she got home, Noelle was happy to take off her shoes and turn on the television as she went through her evening routine. Her phone appeared to have some messages waiting her. First she browsed to make sure none were from the recent guest before going to her personal messages. One was from her boyfriend asking how late she'd be that night. Of course that had been a few hours ago. She quickly typed back that she just got home and that it had been a long day, apologizing for missing time with him. It seemed only a moment had passed before a knock came to the door. Noelle looked through the peephole to see Joshua standing there with a few bags. With a grin she opened up the door to let him inside, the smell of food wafted in with him. At least she knew it would be edible this time.

"I wasn't expecting you..." Noelle said as her boyfriend walked in comfortably and set down the bags on a counter. "Clearly." He chuckled as he looked around for the plates and silverware. "Gotta make sure you get to eat." Noelle smiled a little, "Well I appreciate it." Of course the dreaded question came up of how work had been. Since they weren't married, Noelle couldn't really tell him anything. She just told him she was an accountant for some firm near the city. "The usual. Lots of numbers." Joshua just shook his head, "You work late a lot for an accountant." She just shrugged it off and got them a couple beers from the fridge. "We lost a few employees, so the workload has been heavier. That's all..." Joshua sighed, "Seems they lose employees a lot. Are you sure its the best place to be working." Noelle frowned as she popped the lids off the bottles, "They just have good standards. That's all."

It got quiet for a few minutes as they ate at the counter. "That reminds me though... I'm going to be busy for a few weeks, probably won't be able to see you much." Joshua shook his head, "We hardly see each other anyway. Seems I barely know you anymore." Noelle didn't know what to say, it was the truth. "I... That's true. Maybe we could go on a trip or something after?" She suggested and he just raised an eyebrow to show his skepticism. "Remember our last vacation? We got two days in and you had to leave suddenly for... Some financial crisis at the firm." He waved his fork in the air as he spoke. Noelle nodded, but before she could say anything else, he continued. "I've been thinking for a while now, I just don't think this is working Noelle." Her green eyes widened slightly as she looked at him. "Maybe its just bad timing because of your career, but I need someone... Just someone to be there occasionally. Besides, I met someone." Noelle actually moved back as if she had been slapped. "You.. what?" Joshua nodded and set down his plate. "Shes really nice and is.. yknow present. I really wish you the best." He takes one more drink of his beer before giving her a last look and then walking out the door.

Noelle was stunned. Though it also wasn't completely surprising considering the whole situation. Many of the investigators and agents had a difficult time with relationships if they weren't married getting into the job. There was a lot of classified information that they couldn't divulge, even with an immediate family member or spouse. "That just means... I'll have more focus on my work and the investigation." She said quietly to herself. The television caught her attention briefly as the audience on the show seemed to laugh at whatever joke just happened.
 
Stetzon decided he was going to wash up after a long day and plenty of hours cooped up in a very small shuttle. In a way he liked that the hotel room was a little place for himself. Staying in an office bunk room was a little less comfortable. On Quoti there were bunk rooms reserved for travelers that came for Inter-Galactic police work. Walking into the bathroom he stared at the bath and the spout and then the spout further up on the wall. It was so wasteful to have two spouts. Only one person could use a spout at a time anyway.

Even worse, they didn't provide any the usual oils and certainly not a wash bucket. Stetzon had packed a little extra cedarwood for bathing just in case, but it didn't change the fact that there was no bucket to bathe with. Being from a desert they did everything possible to preserve water. With a little more searching around he found the little ice bucket in the room, though he didn't know that's what it was. They had provided a wash bucket after all and that made him feel a little better. Once he was stripped down and in the tub he filled the bucket with some water. Whatever the temperature was when it came out was the temperature he was going to get. Most of the time the water was warm from his experience. Not hot, but not really cold either. This stuff was different. Earth had to be freezing. The water was cold. Instead of having a leisurely wash he hurried through and then dumped his bucket of water down the drain.

Despite the fact that he was tired Stetzon couldn't sleep. He sat on the bed for a while and wandered around his room before he decided to pull on a pair of boxers and then he paced around the room a little more. There was an exercise room in the basement and at first it seemed like a good idea till he remembered that he was probably too big and it would draw attention. Instead he flopped on the bed and it made a horrible creaking sound and the headboard hit the wall. Whoever was on the other side of the wall hit their side and yelled at him.

Finally he turned on the old hologram. The Earth version of holograms was quite poor. They only had a screen and you couldn't be in the middle of the actual show. People from Earth also seemed to enjoy terrible shows. Many of them involved wars and all of them seemed to be overly sensual with people showing their legs off every chance they had. Stetzon switched from one show to the next. He just wanted something nice and calm. At home they had many different holograms that would take a person on a journey to almost any mountain on Quoti and to other cities. It was a great way to preview an area and see what things were like and if you wanted to go there. Some of the more advanced and expensive systems would allow you to smell and feel the environment exactly as it felt the day that the hologram was taken. Eventually Stetzon found some sort of show that was more like he had at home and he settled a bit more comfortably into the bed. Every time he shifted it would creak, but he was sure it wouldn't break.

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There was a constant blink and a vibration next to him. Stetzon pushed up on his elbows and squinted at the screen on his pad. It looked like the woman, Noelle had left a message. She was going to be picking him up soon. He hadn't got much sleep since. Inter-galactic travel left the sleeping schedule a bit off. Their sun was not nearly as bright first thing in the morning either. If he hadn't slept through the first message alert he would have had time to make breakfast, but for now he was going to have to settle with just getting himself dressed.

Thankfully he'd washed last night and he was good to go today. Slipping into his clothes and lacing his boots up the Chip figured he was ready. The last thing he needed to do was brush his teeth and that was it. Normally his hair didn't behave anyway, so there was no point in trying to make it look nice. Just as he was finishing brushing his teeth his pad alerted him again and he turned the alert off and shoved the pad into his bag.

Stetzon had everything he needed for the day in his bag. That was, everything he needed with the exception of more rations. Who knew how many people he would meet and if they would like to have a meal with him. Checking his pockets one more time on the cargo pants he made sure that he had his papers and his card for the room. Pressing down on the handle he pulled the door open and then he stepped out into the hall. He expected that she would be waiting for him in the lobby. Silently walking down the hall he passed a person standing with their wash bucket in a corner with a machine. Pausing there briefly he wondered if this was where people got better water. Instead the person filled their bucket with ice. Naturally Stetzon's eyes widened and he couldn't help feeling a little shocked. People here would wash with ice like that?

Turning the corner a little earlier than he was supposed to Stetzon hit the wall with his shoulder and he noticed a bit of the wall had been damaged where he hit it. Clearing his throat he stepped to the side and continued past the elevator and to the stairs. He didn't really like taking the elevator when he read the weight limit. Wouldn't take too many people along with himself to go beyond the ability of the machine.

Once he was down the stairs and to the lobby it was 7:58 and he looked around to see there were a few little odd breads sitting out for anyone to eat. Taking two he bit into one and found it was strangely sweet. Still, it tasted good. The soft gold of the bread and the slight grit was fine. It must have been a grain meal of sorts. Shoving the rest of the first cornbread muffin into his mouth he saw Noelle start for the front doors and made his way over to her. One of the first things she asked about was if he'd had anything to eat and he nodded. Holding up the last corn bread muffin he grinned. "It's good. You have good night?"
 
It was slightly concerning in the morning when Noelle didn't receive a response back to her initial message. However, she just let it be and continued on with her morning. Since it was still considered summer, she was going to dress comfortably and ideally in a way that wouldn't cause too much attention drawn to them. That meant a business suit was out of the question. Instead she was wearing a pair of white capris and pink tank top with a sheer blouse buttoned up and white tennis shoes. Noelle had the television on for background noise as she finished a bowl of cold cereal and a cup of tea. While eating her breakfast she browsed through the various reports and made a list of things to do with the visitor. Part of it was work related and part was helping him get acquainted with the environment.

After she eating, Noelle popped a breath mint in her mouth since she had already brushed her teeth earlier and worked on her hair. Since she wouldn't be in the office, she just pulled it back into a long ponytail. Then put on a little bit of make up and grabbed her things to leave. "Keys, bag, phone.. phone.. " She looked around and into her purse for her phone before realizing it was in her pocket. "Phone." It was a short drive to the hotel where Stetzon was staying and at first she waited outside. At least until it got to be 7:56. Then she got out of the car and started heading for the lobby. It didn't take long for the two to find each other. "Good morning. Were you able to have breakfast?" Noelle could see there was a small buffet available and wanted to make sure he had time to eat before their outing.

Nodding, she led the way out of the building and toward her car. It was a jeep, so hopefully it would fit him more comfortably. She had even made sure the passenger seat was pushed back all the way to ensure he had at least some leg room. "My night.. Was interesting." Noelle almost had to laugh. "Was your room comfortable?"
 
Stetzon followed the woman out to the Jeep and he ate the second little muffing gleefully. It wasn't much and he was sure that he would be hungry in about 15 minutes after eating the food, but it was his fault for sleeping as late as he did. When they got to her vehicle it looked far more comfortable than the one he'd ridden in the day before. Sliding into the passenger seat he noticed there was a little more leg room, but his knees were still a bit closer than was comfortable. She answered about the same as anyone that had to escort him around. No one ever got real specific and he didn't blame them.

Then there was a part of Stetzon that wasn't so sure he wanted to know what interesting was. Her planet was already quite different in some ways and there was no telling what she thought interesting might be. Glancing over at her he couldn't help noticing that part of her legs were showing. Stetzon stared for a moment and then he looked straight at the dashboard and focused on that point. All he dreamed about was legs after all those horrible shows and now she was showing leg too. Not so much as to be horribly indecent, but enough to give a man ideas.

The woman was looking at him and asking if the stay in the hotel was comfortable and Stetzon shrugged. "It was about what I expected." He wasn't sure what else to say. It wouldn't be polite to criticize their hospitality.

Noelle wasn't sure how blunt or direct she could be without offending him. So it seemed a good time to test the waters as they walked toward the car. "What had you been expecting?"

She was a smart one and she wanted to know more. Stetzon couldn't help grinning. It was probably going to sound funny. However, there were other parts of the stay that were quite a bit different than he had thought and he wasn't so sure he wanted to talk about those. "A short bed. There was still a good water spout and bucket for washing."

The bed had been short and a washing bucket. Maybe he meant the bathtub? She wasn't going to embarrass him with a minor correction like that. Not like he would be talking to everyone about his bathing experience. Though the bed had her concerned. "I thought I had you booked for a king suite."

Somehow he wasn't sure what she meant about the bed. Stetzon frowned a little and he thought of how to describe the bed. She thought the bed was big? "Well, the bed was fat...Eh is short the right word?" This was his best attempt and he wasn't so sure he used the right word. "Ok." It seemed that he had the right word and he nodded. "Anyway, I think the washing bucket expected, but I didn't know that it would be such an expensive room. A water spout in the room. At first I thought maybe I would have to go to a bath house. Uh...where people wash." If he read her facial expression right she didn't understand entirely what he meant. "At home, there is not many people that can have a water spout in their home. We live in a desert and so when I wash I take my bucket and I got to the bath house. There is a water spout and everyone gets a little water and men wash on one side and women on the other."

Suddenly it dawned on her that he was talking about a literal bucket he washed from. Her green eyes widened as she got into the driver side of the car. "It's not uncommon to have a full bathroom." She explained. "We are not in any type of water shortage. Where you saw the spout in the bathroom is actually a tub and likely a shower." Noelle watched him to see if the information was sinking in. "Was this not gone over in the introduction course?"

Stetzon listened to her and he nodded carefully. A tub and shower was where the water spout was at. "Washing? I know how to wash myself." It was slightly offensive the way she assumed he didn't know that. "Chippequoti are very clean. I don't need introduction course on how to wash."

"I was meaning more along the lines of what you would typically find in a residence, for example. Many of our visitors have very different facilities back home. Our technology for the public is quite outdated in comparison." Noelle was careful not to get worked up and stayed calm with her explanation. Hopefully she hadn't ruffled his feathers too much. "We are going to head for the other side of town so you can familiarize yourself with the area."

Since she didn't seem upset and he probably misunderstood Stetzon nodded. "Oh, I understand what you mean now. I think they asked if I knew how to use the facilities and I said yes." It had been a similar thought pattern the first time. He knew how to live inside. Part of him wondered if they thought he didn't know what to do inside because he was tan in comparison to them. Some of their questions were very odd. However, it was a relief to be heading to the other side of town. Stetzon sighed a little and nodded. "Yes, I need to get work done. My office will want a report on my progress."

"Feel free to ask about anything during our drive there. I imagine it looks quite different than what you're used to." There were plenty of cars on the roads of many makes and models. Occasionally they passed long busses and a few yellow taxis. Bicyclists also had their own lane on the road.

Stetzon figured that since she'd asked about his night he might as well ask about hers. Who knew what it was like, but there was only one way to find out. "Your night was interesting how?"

Of course she had left it open for questions and he asked about her 'interesting' night. Her cheeks flushed, "Well.." She sighed to relax herself again. "My boyfriend came over to surprise me with dinner and broke up with me."

The woman's explanation was very plain and Stetzon gazed at her for a long moment. "Boyfriend?" He wasn't entirely sure what this meant. He'd heard that humans were loose with their relationships and he wondered if this was another one of those loose kinds of deals. "You were not agreed?" Stetzon mused for a moment longer and then he gave his final answer. "Maybe this was good. If he would not agree with you then it was better that he leave."

"Boyfriend or girlfriend is like a partner." When he mentioned 'agreed' she assumed that meant engaged or married. "No we weren't." It was almost uncomfortably quiet before he said it may have been a good thing he left. She nodded, "It'll be better in the long run I'm sure."

"Mmhmm." Stetzon just nodded and pulled his tablet out of his pocket. Tapping away on it he started to make note of a few more things as he went. There was a little bit in his files on the kinds of transportation and his basic experiences. He liked to keep a little working journal of all this. After a while he glanced at her and then went back to work on his pad. He didn't look up from his work again until he felt the jeep stop and then he looked around at his surroundings. "This is where you will have me stay for today?"

"We'll be traveling around here on foot. Just to let you get to know the area and perhaps meet a few people." She got out of the jeep and once he was out, she made sure to lock it up. Her purse was small and hung from her shoulder and across her body to rest on her hip. "Go ahead and go any direction, I'll stay with you. You probably have a better idea of what kind of environment our person would be in." Noelle started toward the street from the parking lot. "Just remember my strides aren't as long as yours."

Stetzon left his pack in the jeep and he pushed his pad back into his pant pocket. One thing he had that was supposed to look like other people was a wallet. Stetzon put his wallet in his back pocket after he got out of the jeep. He had a bank card that the Inter-Galactic Office got for him and he even had some of his credits transferred to it. Today was going to be the fun day. He'd go shopping around and see what there was in the area that his criminal was hiding. One good way to find out where he'd been was to see how people reacted to the presence of a big tall guy. If the Chippequoti was hiding there was a good chance that he was a dark Chip.

Looking up and down the street Stetzon decided he wanted to cross it and look at the food market first. He was hungry anyway. Besides it was a good place to look. The guy they were tracking had to eat food sometime. Once he was in the store Stetzon went straight for the meat counter. To his disappointment there wasn't any snake and certainly a sign of scorpions. They must have been sold out. After a moment he decided that he would move on and see what else there was in this store. So far everyone was staring except one man. Stetzon wandered from one aisle to another until he found a drink. It looked good. While he was examining the drink he noticed the man that had been staring at him left the store.

There was no hurry. Stetzon figured the man would watch the store from now on and eventually he would lead Stetzon someplace. This time he would be too wary for Stetzon to follow. Patience was key. Wait till the suspect was sloppy and felt safe. Selecting the attractive red can with silver lettering Stetzon went to the front and the man charged him a few credits for what he called coca cola. Once he was out of the store Stetzon popped the can open and he took a sip.

The fizz was unexpected and he pulled the drink away from his mouth to look at it. "Hmm." He put it back to his lips and took a few more sips. There was something not quite right though. His stomach was hurting and usually if he had a drink of sorts it would settle things. This was making it much worse. Still, Stetzon was determined to walk around the town a little more. He only made it a few more blocks and he started to look around anxiously. There had to be a place to go. Somewhere he wouldn't be seen by everyone. However, he was starting to feel desperate too. Spotting a narrow and mostly ignored street he marched right down it about as confidently as he walked anyplace else. As long as you looked like you belonged people didn't usually ask questions.

Promptly he lifted the lid on a garbage bin, dropped the rest of the can of the drink inside and started to puke. He was sweating horribly by now and he wasn't sure why he had that sort of reaction to a small bread and drink. Closing the lid on the garbage he shuddered and started back toward the main street when another severe cramp started and he could feel the vomit creeping up his throat. This time he looked a little less poised and he half ran back to the garbage can and puked more.
 
Noelle stayed a short distance behind so Stetzon wouldn't be too influenced by where she might want to go. Though it seemed that wasn't going to be a concern anyway as the Chippequoti made his way across the street. He seemed to be looking for a particular place. Turned out to be a meat market. Noelle stayed outside to enjoy the sun a little. There was a hot dog stand nearby and the owner started conversation with her. She was able to keep an angle that allowed her to speak with him and see who else was coming and going from the market. They probably didn't need anyone seeing her and Stetzon together yet. Especially since any registered galactic visitor in the area would know who she was.

"How has business been?" She politely asked the man. Apparently it had been quite good during the summer, which was expected. "This meat market gives me their scrap meat so I can make the dogs." Noelle thought that was interesting. "So you make your own hot dogs?" He nodded emphatically and started describing how he made them. The woman didn't realize there was so much to a hot dog stand. Her attention was caught for a moment as a man left the market looking slightly flustered. He actually almost knocked into her. The stand owner stopped his hot dog story to roughly shove the mans shoulder, "Mind where you're walkin bud!" The stranger looked a bit rattled and looked at the two of them and back at the door then back to Noelle. "I'm sorry, Miss." Then he scurried off.

He only said a few words, but it was definitely an accent and she couldn't quite place it. Stetzon finally came out and seemed to have found a soda. It had her curious a moment if they had carbonated drinks where he was from, it was quite the bold choice if it was his first time drinking it. She saw him walk by and after a few moments took her leave from the hot dog stand to walk on behind in. The walk had been quiet for quite a few blocks when Stetzon appeared possibly confused. It was difficult to tell from behind. Though he almost ran into an alley and as Noelle got closer she heard why. Something certainly didn't agree with him. She heard his footsteps coming closer when he was finished, but then start back down the alley for more vomiting.

When he eventually did make it back to the sidewalk, Noelle looked up at him and then pulled a tablet from her bag to hold out to him. "Its just a water tablet." She promised and lifted her hand for him to take it. "Don't want you getting dehydrated." She waited a few moments before continuing, "Did you want to try eating something?" It would be understandable if he was cautious about eating Earth food, but Noelle actually had an idea of a type of restaurant that might settle better for him. "There is a restaurant that serves strictly 'paleo' foods." She said before explaining what that meant, "Typically it is fresh meats, fish, and fruits and vegetables." Noelle said, "It won't be near as processed as what you have tried so far. And we can request minimal or no seasoning." She waited to see if that seemed like something he would be up for and nodded at the response. If he decided to go, she gave him the general directions of how to get there so he could lead the way and still stop at whatever he wanted to see.

As their walk continued, they passed quite a few people now that the day was progressing. Mostly were dressed for the warm weather. A few seemed curious at the very large man and would pause their conversation briefly as they looked at him as they passed by. Seemed the men would look him over as if to 'size him up' as if to determine who would win a fight. The women tended to have a variety thoughts crossing their faces, some more inappropriate than others. Noelle found people observing quite interesting and made sure to stay far enough back to allow for it.
 
It wasn't exactly Stetzon's intention to get sick so fast. Reluctantly he took the tab from Noelle and continued walking. Already she was offering food and that was a semi nice thing to do. "Sure." Food always sounded good and especially when his stomach was empty. Not that he'd had much in it, but his stomach just felt unsettled since the morning and the drink had left him even more unsettled than before. A slight frown came to his face when she said that she could take him to place closer to the paleo diet. He didn't know what that meant until she explained it.

"Food sounds more like what I like to eat, but I don't have a weak stomach." More than likely it looked that way. He'd barely got here and he had his first taste of Earth food and he was already sick. "I don't understand. Food doesn't make me sick. There is only thing that makes me sick and I didn't eat any. Chippequoti never eat corn because it makes us sick."

Noelle was sure on his planet he didn't have a weak stomach, but most races weren't used to how highly processed some of the Earth food could be. Then he mentioned corn and that caught her attention. "A lot of foods use corn syrup instead of sugar for the sweet taste. Pretty much everything you've had today has had a form of corn."

"Why would they make a corn drink?" His voice raised slightly. Someone that made corn drinks was insane. "What food here doesn't have corn?" Already he was wondering if there was such a thing as safe food on this planet.

"The corn was used to sweeten the drink." She explained as they continued walking. "There are plenty of foods and drinks without corn, you just have to know what to look for."

Stetzon sighed. "Alright. I will learn then." He found it odd that they used corn to make things sweet. He didn't really know what corn tasted like, so he didn't know if it was a good sweetener. When they got to the paleo food place Stetzon could smell the meat and he grinned. There was nothing quite like fresh meat to make a man feel better. Finally, it was his turn to order and he decided to choose the second item on the menu that was listed above the counter. "I would like number 2 as long as it doesn't have any corn."

It seemed Stetzon was more satisfied with this food choice. Noelle went up to order first. "I'll have the number 6 with steak." It was a salad. "And a pitcher of water for our table please." Then she stepped aside for him to order. The waitress seemed a bit taken aback by his size and even giggled at his corn comment. "No sir, there is no corn." Afterward they were given a number so they could find a table.

There was a strange trend that Stetzon had noticed. Many people were staring. From what he could gather the target didn't frequent this area, but maybe some of his workers did. A few of the men on the street looked like they would be the sort to start fights and men didn't look for a fight unless there was a reason. Stetzon could only think of a few reasons he'd fight someone that was a lot bigger than himself and especially if he didn't know them.They had to be a target, or someone that made the first wrong move. Keeping a straight face he stared at the girl for a long moment and then turned to go sit wherever Noelle did. It wasn't till he sat down that he noticed there were others that were watching and perhaps a bit more insistently than just strangers that stared rudely. These people were talking among themselves, but keeping their eyes on him.

This time it was one of the women that got up and walked out. The other two in the group stayed. Stetzon pretended to ignore them for the time and he leaned back in his seat a little when one of the workers set his food out in front of him. It was a wonderful smelling sort of meat and it was seasoned with something spicy. Stetzon had no idea what a buffalo was, but he was sure he would like the buffalo burger served on lettuce and piled high with various vegetables and a mix of seasoning. Leaning a little closer to his plate he breathed in the smell. An involuntary 'mmm' escaped his mouth and then he took the fork and started to dig in.

By the time they had finished the meal Stetzon felt far better. His stomach was full for now and he had a pleasant after taste in his mouth. It was rare to get so much meat at one time without eating an entire snake or desert dog. "I like this buffalo." When he got up from the table Stetzon grabbed the plate and silverware. He was sure that they had to have a place to take the dishes somewhere. This was a strange sort of cafeteria and communal eating place and it felt even more odd when Noelle told him to leave his dishes where they were.

When they stepped out of the little restaurant Stetzon started down the street. It was the general direction that he'd seen his watchers disappear down. The further they went down the streets the more it changed from being busy to quiet and then he stopped short and started to look around. There was something wrong here. He needed to turn back and come to this place another time. Right now something felt off. About time he turned to leave he felt a sharp sting on his left shoulder blade. Stetzon grunted and he reached for the spot. He couldn't reach it, but he could hear there was some yelling going on behind him. Instead of waiting to find out what kind of trouble it was he darted around a corner and through a few alley ways till he found himself closer to the busy part of the small district. About that time he realized that Noelle was not with him. "Damn it." Stetzon turned on his heel and started back through the alley way. He paused in one and sent her a message. "Got trouble and turned back. Where are you?"
 
A lot of people were staring, but that was to be expected. Noelle suspected that many were registered visitors and she would shoot them a glance. Of all the residents, they should understand what it was like to be new to the area. When they finished eating, Noelle saw the Chippequoti starting to pick up his plates. "No no, leave them here." She whispered as they stood up. Of course it was likely odd for him to not clean up after himself. As they left, she took her usual distance away from him as he went deeper into the town. It wasn't exactly the most savory part of the city. They were in the heart of the crime market. Humans and the other races made it a point to be not seen or heard, though they always knew where you were.

Noelle notably had a strange feeling with just how quiet it had gotten. From her time doing field work, she knew to trust that feeling and started to fall even further behind Stetzon. She kept him within view. Though the woman was also rather sure they had already been seen together enough for anyone to know they were familiar. She moved into a small cubby of a building to get out of sight and started tapping on her watch. The field agent closest to the area had said there was talk of Stetzon being in town already and there was a lot of movement going on. Turned out the movement was heading for their location. Things were about to get lively.

She heard the muffled sound of a shot being fired. From the sounds, it must've hit Stetzon and she could hear his heavy footsteps starting to run. A group was running toward the spot where he was, but she flattened her back against the wall to be in the shadows. The language they spoke definitely was not one from Earth. She quietly stuck a translator ball into her ear. If it was a known language of the Inter-Galactic Council, it would put it into English for her. Apparently their 'boss' wanted them to bring in Stetzon, preferably alive. After that brief discussion they were curious where the 'woman' was. It didn't take much for Noelle to figure out that they were talking about her. She was hoping to just stay there a few more moments and wait for them to pass by so she could make her own escape.

That didn't last long as her phone started buzzing and the group could hear it. Noelle slid out of her spot and made a run for it, back toward the lively part of town. She could still hear them through her translator. Apparently one of them had recognized her. Not just as the person who had been traveling with Stetzon, but also as the territory supervisor. It seemed they didn't want to get the Inter-Galactic offices involved in what they were doing and they backed off. Once Noelle had made it back where there were more people on the streets, she took out her translator and checked her phone. It was Stetzon. Hopefully he had remained where it was safe.

She messaged back, "I made it back. Stay where you are if you can. I'll get your coordinates and find you." Noelle clicked a few buttons on her phone and a map came up with a flashing dot of where the Chippequoti was and a solid dot of where she was. To anyone else it would just look like a navigation app.
 
Stetzon waited in the alley where he had messaged her. Hopefully she would answer soon, or he wold have to try and hack her device and then he could make an attempt at going and getting her. It didn't sound like much fun to get one of the top investigators of this office shot, or killed on his first day out in the streets. More than likely it would be frowned upon and possibly cast suspicion on him and the Chippequoti. Causing anyone to have alarm about a Chip war was the last thing he needed and his Elders would surely have something to say about it.

His shoulder blade ached a little, but it wasn't going to be anything serious. All he needed was for someone to pick the bullet out of his skin and then rinse it out. His bone protected him from any further harm. That was one good thing. Most of the time bullets had no effect on a Chip if it hit their bone. That is if it was a regular bullet. Had it been an armor piercing round he would have probably passed out. Maybe he would have died. It could have got to his heart if it was an armor piercing round.

From his spot Stetzon could hear voices getting closer and he crouched a little lower until he heard them pass. Letting out a breath he stared at his pad anxiously. She had to be answering sometime soon. Finally, the silent message popped up and he could see she was asking him to stay put. That was a problem. There were a lot of guys starting to mill around and he knew some of the languages. Only one of them had a Chip accent and the others sounded like they were from one of the quadrants. It was hard to place the accent. It wasn't one that he had heard very often. A little red blinking light came on his pad and he could see an agent was on the way, but he doubted they would get here fast enough. Still, he had his orders.

Suddenly a tink, sounded and Stetzon shoved the pad in his pocket and scrambled forward a little bit. They'd found him and this was not the ideal place to be when that happened. Sliding himself around the corner of the building he still tried to keep his position semi close to where he had been and maybe he could circle around.

"I thought you said you hit him?" One of the men whispered. "I did." The other answered and then it fell silent. Both of the men looked around the area. There wasn't much blood to be seen. Only a little spot on the wall where the stranger must have been leaning. The only thing that gave it away was the fact that the blood was fresh. Looking to the first one the one nodded and then they started to slowly make their way around the edge of the building.

Stetzon had started to move quietly from one spot to another. He was going to have to explain later, but he couldn't stay put. Weaving his way through one alley he walked up the stairs that hung from one building and then stood on the top rail near the roof of the building, from there Stetzon swung one leg up on the roof and then another and he laid on the roof for a while. Those looking for him had started to mill about more freely in the alley ways and they went back and forth until they started to spread out and some went deeper into the city, but most of them hid their weapons and started for the nicer part of the city.

Since it was about as good as it was going to get Stetzon got himself down off the roof and made a run for one of the main streets connected to his alley way. If he got to the main street and ran for about another quarter mile they might be able to see him, but they wouldn't be able to do much about it. As he rounded the corner for the main street he saw a few thugs, but he was determined to get out without fighting today.

The group of thugs started congregate and then they scattered and began to run at Stetzon from a few different directions. Each of them seemed intent on getting the big stranger. Stetzon elbowed the first one hard with his elbow and he heard the man's ribs crack and then he punched the next one. They were clearly not a sturdy sort because he could hear that one's jaw break, but it looked like there may have been a little more broken than that. His entire body hit the ground limp and the remaining 3 backed off. Stetzon walked the rest of the way toward the safe ground and he had a feeling Noelle would have a few things to say about what just happened. He could only hope that she wouldn't be giving him one of those 'talks.'
 
Noelle was trying to hurry, but not cause alarm to the innocent pedestrians. The indicator for Stetzon was moving and she figured that meant he was in trouble. Her pace moved into a jog. Though even if she were to go into a running pace she didn't think she'd be able to keep up with the Chippequoti's normal walking speed. However her first concern had to be about the citizens in the area, so she just kept with her jog. Her closest field agent was in the other part of town so that wasn't going to be much help either. Though her watch started beeping so she paused briefly to see what was going on. Apparently there was a large gang on the look out for Stetzon. Though it appeared to be primarily humans instead of visiting races.

The woman started on her jog again in the general direction where Stetzon was showing to be. As she crossed the street, she saw a group that looked familiar to the one she saw earlier. They appeared not to notice her however and she intended to keep it that way. The lead of their group was pointing in various directions and it appeared they were splitting up. After they had dispersed, Noelle passed by where they had been and her watch started beeping again with more notices from her field agent. There had been a fighting incident and a few had broken bones. The survivors mentioned a large brown man. She tapped on her watch a few times to find out if any of the general public had seen or if they were heading for a hospital. The replay came quickly. Since it was gang related they would be using their own medical facilities and none of the public had seen anything that they knew of. Noelle made a note to keep an eye on the news and listen to the radio for any strange reports.

She rounded a corner where her phone told her that Stetzon would be close by and almost ran into him. "We need to go." There wasn't time for apologies on running into him, she had no idea what his culture's rules were on touching. At least he seemed to understand the need to get out of their current location. The group that had been closest to him had dispersed after the fight, but Noelle was sure another group would be tracking them soon. She started at a fast jogging pace back toward the jeep. It wasn't too far. Once she reached the parking lot, she broke out into a run and pushed the button on her car key to unlock the doors for Stetzon to get inside. Even with them inside the vehicle, Noelle noticed there was another car in the lot that was possibly waiting for them. As she started to drive out of the lot, it became clear that the intent was to follow them.

"We are being followed." Noelle noted out loud, though it seemed the Chippequoti had figured that out already. "Well good news for both of us is that they want to take you in alive and they are too afraid to attack me because they don't want to get the Inter-Galactic offices involved." She chuckled a little and shook her head. The traffic was too heavy to go speeding around, but she could still box them in somewhere. She glanced at the glove box to see it was mostly blocked by his legs. "Can you get that compartment open?" Noelle pointed, "I need the box inside."

Noelle led their followers into a parking garage and circled them up a few levels into an area that didn't have as many other vehicles before putting the jeep into park. She still wanted to take precautions to make sure humans didn't see what was going to happen. "Thanks." After setting the box on the center console, she snapped it open and revealed a very small gun. It was only about the size of her palm and she took it out of the case and clicked a button on the side. The passenger of the other car had already exited his vehicle by the time Noelle got out of her own.

When the passenger went to make a dive for her, she didn't hesitate to shoot her weapon at him. It didn't make the same sound as a gun and it didn't even shoot bullets. Instead a pellet came out of the barrel and it expanded into a disc that landed on his arm with a suction kind of sound. It seemed to freeze the man in his position. When the driver started to rev the engine of his car, Noelle clicked another button on the side of the weapon and shot at his wheels. This time the wheels seemed melted into place and stopped turning. Though with the driver still pushing the gas, the car was producing a lot of smoke from the back wheels. Until finally the driver got out of his car with a weapon she wasn't familiar with. Noelle didn't want to find out what it did however and clicked another button on her gun and shot at him. It seemed to electrify the man in place and forced him to drop the weapon.

She quickly went to pick it up and got back into the jeep. Reaching into the backseat, she put the newly acquired weapon under a blanket and put her small gun back into the case and set it on the floor in the back. "It'll wear off in about an hour. That's enough time for us to get out of here." Noelle said before putting the jeep back into drive and going toward the exit of the parking garage. "Let me know if you see anything suspicious as we get back onto the street." Though she was hopeful they would be able to make a getaway this time.
 
Stetzon was doing his best to look natural. There was no reason to alarm people if he didn't have to. Glancing behind himself again he wanted to be sure he didn't have reason to run this very instant. Just as he looked behind himself he felt someone bump into him and he glared at Noelle for just a moment. "I know we need to get out of here." Even if he felt a little bit grouchy, Stetzon knew this wasn't the time for it. Walking behind her at a semi moderate pace he could see she was a bit more shaken up than he was.

If they wanted him alive it would take a lot more than what they'd brought to the fight. At the same time it was a little concerning for a few reasons. In the event that it was their man directing these guys he just got his answer as to where Stetzon was from. That could be a bad thing. Supposing they were someone that didn't know what he was this could be interesting, but Stetzon had an idea it was linked with his man and it wouldn't be long before he connected the dots. They had to hurry up with this case if he was going to catch the guy. The other question that came to his mind was how the man knew he was here and who he was so fast. He barely set foot in the town and there were already people gunning for him.

They were nearing the jeep again and Noelle was already unlocking her car. Stetzon slipped into his seat and he tried to lean forward so he wouldn't get blood on the back of her passenger seat. What was supposed to be a smooth get away turned into some sort of wild driving and suddenly she was asking him to get something out of the glove box. Stetzon had to push one knee almost onto her lap and try to angle the other leg so he could get into the glove box and find the little carton she asked for.

At first his eyes narrowed when she opened it up to reveal a little thing. It had better not be makeup after all that. He'd met a few that were special that way and it would be irritating enough he might say something. Instead she pulled over and stepped out to shoot the guy chasing them. Gradually a smile came over Stetzon's face as he watched it all take place in the rearview mirror of the jeep. That was the kind of stuff he liked to see. Only a few moments later she returned with a gun of sorts and it looked eerily like some of the pictures he'd seen. "I'll look at that when we get back to the office." Noelle wanted him to watch for tails and Stetzon gazed in the side mirror for a while. They were already several blocks further along and no one was staring at the jeep and there weren't any cars following them. "Nope, we're good to go. Nobody is following."

*******************

When they got back to the office Stetzon stripped his shirt off without much caring who was there and who saw. He had a few little pock marks from where other bullets had hit, but none of them were anymore serious than what happened today. "Somebody want to help me?" Turning his back to the nearest person he tried to point with one hand at his shoulder blade. "Just pick the bullet out and put something over the wound so it won't bleed all over the place." Some of the muscle and the skin was definitely tender, but it was only fleshy.

Once the bullet was out and he felt something sharp stinging and he frowned. "Why would you put antiseptic on it? I'm fine. Not like I get infections the same as you do." Grumbling a little he rolled his shoulders forward to try and ease the discomfort. Eventually the person put a little gauze over the wound and he stood up again. Now he was going to find out if he was in trouble. Noelle more than likely had something to say, but he was going to pretend she didn't.

Stepping into the room with the weapon he pulled his pad out of his pant pocket and set it on the table while he typed in a few notes and prepared a new file to store the image and some other notes on the gun. "I'll start working on the analysis of the weapon. Find out if there's anything specific about it that would give away who we're dealing with. Only a few guys know how to make modifications like this. Well, I know how, but only a few that went rogue know how to do this."
 
On the way back to the office there didn't seem to be any further groups following them. Her watch was constantly going off from her field agent. Once they pulled up to the offices she quickly browsed through the messages. Apparently things were going a bit haywire on the black market since the duo made their escape and took a weapon. She carefully took the weapon out of the backseat and carried it inside. "Med station is down that way. It'll be the door with the red plus on it." Noelle pointed in the general direction, "When you're done I'll be in the debriefing room we used yesterday." At least for the time being, she kept the weapon covered up until she made it into the room.

It looked strangely similar to the pictures they had on file. Her field agent had another update, apparently this was a prototype that they were going to 'test'. When Stetzon made it to the room she filled him in, "The word is this was a prototype. That just means there is possibly more out there." Modified and unmodified, it was too many to be on the streets. She listened to what the Chippequoti had to say on the weapon. There was a knock on the door and Noelle went to answer it, carefully blocking the opening so she could see who it was first. The weapon was still considered rather classified information. However, it was two of her superiors and she let them into the room before shutting the door again.

"We're getting a lot of reports of some chaos on the streets Noelle." The woman opened her mouth to begin giving her report, but was interrupted by her boss continuing to speak. "At least you both made it back and even brought a souvenir." One of them was just taking notes of the interactions and Noelle had a feeling this wasn't going to end well. "Care to tell me what happened?" Noelle nodded and began, "We started with just some observation of the area. Since we believed the dealer to be of Chippequoti descent, I let Stetzon Silver-Bear take more of a lead in tracking where they might be or would routinely be visiting." Her boss waved his hand for her to continue. "Then we ended up meeting some of those that may be part of the organization. At that point we were briefly separated."

There was a discomforting chuckle and one of his hairy eyebrows raised, "So you let our visitor travel alone. Was it during this time that three humans were seriously injured?" Noelle nodded. He clicked his tongue and shook his head and she just tried to avoid eye contact. "I caught up to him shortly afterward and we were then followed by vehicle. I led them to an abandoned part of a parking garage and took non-lethal action. This is when we acquired the prototype." Her hand motioned toward the weapon. "Why didn't you take lethal action?" He asked and Noelle was speechless for a moment. "Sir, there was no reason to. Protocol-" He waved his hand to stop her, "I know what protocol says. This investigation has gotten completely out of hand."

Noelle stood back and swallowed hard. "Sir-" He stopped her again with a wave of his hand. "You have severely mishandled the investigation and have only had it for a little over 24 hours. I'm taking you off the case." He looked toward his partner who nodded that he had it all written down. "I expect a full, detailed report before you leave. Make sure to leave any other pertinent information in your office. You were going to start a vacation after this, yes?" Noelle just nodded. "Go ahead and start it sooner. We'll be reassigning Chris Barnes to the case. That should get it resolved more quickly." Chris was another investigator who Noelle felt took unnecessary risks far too often. Something this sensitive... She didn't want to consider what the outcome would be. "Yes, Sir."

She turned to the Chippequoti, "It was a pleasure working with you Stetzon Silver-Bear Octova 81 of Julius. I.. I wish you the best of luck with the rest of the investigation." Noelle gave a slight bow and made her exit. In the hallway, she passed Chris. He was tall, obviously worked out, had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a brilliant smile. Most of the other women melted at the sight of him. Noelle thought his personality made him more like a troll. "Hey there, Noe." It was a pet name he had come up with that she hated. "Too bad about losing your spot on this investigation." He patted her head as she moved away from him. "Guess they needed a real man to take on the job." She closed her eyes to avoid rolling them too severely. There was a lot she could've said, but instead she decided to just keep walking toward her office. "This will be my big break from the minor jobs. I'll give you a call once the dust settles." Noelle shook her head as she stepped into her office and shut the door.

~~~~~

Chris waited until Noelle disappeared completely before continuing down the hall into the room where everyone else was. He knocked a few times before letting himself in. Upon being introduced to the Chippequoti, he shook the man's hand and patted his arm with his other hand. "Big man Stetz. We'll get this settled in no time." The blonde human promised. "So.. What is all this?" He released his grip from Stetzon, but kept one hand on his shoulder and used his other hand to wave at the weapon and equipment on the table. Chris nodded along with what everyone had to say. "Let's wait until sun down and then we can hit the streets again. They won't be expecting us so soon. We'll just storm them.. Pick up who and what we need and be done. Badda bing, badda boom, done!"
 
It was a little surprising an relieving at the same time that the woman hadn't started to rag on him about what happened. Instead she continued with the work the same way he had and Stetzon was happy enough with that. She was obviously more experienced than a few of the people he'd had to deal with on other planets. In fact he kinda liked working with her. She didn't really need saving when things got bad. That in itself made her a good partner to have on the field. Not that he wouldn't do what he had to if she needed help, but at least she wouldn't be constantly in danger.

Only a few minutes into their work a knock came at the door and Stetzon simply kept his back to it for now. He was going to try and get his initial observations done and then he would start picking the gun apart to see if there was any reason that he should change the initial analysis. More than likely there would need to be a few little points added, but he was fairly certain that he knew what they had done with the weapon. It was a nice bit of work and he hated to think that it was all going to waste here.

When the men started to talk to Noelle he could tell by the sound of it that it wasn't going well for her. They were probably going to issue a reprimand and let her go. Stetzon paused in his work, but remained with his back to all of them while he listened. Whoever her superior officer was the man was crazy. He was going to take her off the case this instant because of a few issues that were beyond their control? It wasn't like she could the fact that the gang had come after him. All things considered the action they took was mild and the men that got injured wouldn't be reporting this to proper authorities. Stetzon knew how this all worked and he knew that technically Noelle had broken the rules, but she didn't step very far out of bounds. He'd seen worse done with no reprimand.

To make it worse the boss took her off the cause completely. Instead he was going to be assigned someone else. When the last of it had been said he turned around and nodded quietly to Noelle when she said her goodbye. "Maybe I'll get lucky and the investigation will end soon. We made good progress today." It was about the only thing he could safely say at this point. Perhaps her boss would take what he said into consideration. Only a few moments later a young, blond guy came waltzing into the room. He looked like a kid with a piece of candy. What lunatic wandered around like that when he knew someone else got taken off the case? Usually it meant things were messy and it was one hell of a job to clean it up.

Getting called Big Man Stetz was about the beginning of the end of Stetzon's rope. He liked working with the lady and she'd handled it like a pro. Anyone that researched the Chippequoti would know that this sort of case was normal. There were always a few odd things. This case had a few more, but he didn't feel like it went that poorly. To make matters worse the guy wanted to shake hands and he wouldn't move the one off Stetzon's shoulder even when Stetzon stopped shaking his hand. Maybe next time he'd just squeeze a little harder and break a few bones on accident. Instead of leaving space to answer the new guy made an immediate suggestion that made Stetzon just about grit his teeth. "You're an idiot."

Chris took a step back and held his hands up, "Whoa whoa whoa there Big Man. No need for name calling." He looked around letting out a small, uncomfortable laugh. "I was called in here because things weren't moving the way they should. We need to get the action moving."

"Big man?" Stetzon had enough of the guy trying to get familiar and he hated nick names. Taking a step closer to the man he placed one of his hands heavily on Chris' shoulder and he growled at him. "You were called in here because they've never dealt with this and they weren't smart enough to ask my opinion." Clenching his jaw he removed his hand from Chris' shoulder and turned back to the table to work. The guy was getting closer and closer and Stetzon could feel it. Every sense seemed to tell him that the guy was closer than he was comfortable with. "I don't have patience for puffed up numbskulls. Be useful or get out."

His shoulder stooped under the weight of one hand and Chris' eyes widened. "So we're agreed. Another person needed to be assigned the investigation." He nodded and kept close to the Chippequoti, trying to see whatever it was he was doing or looking at. The language on his pad was not one he could read, but he pretended he could. When Stetzon spoke again, Chris almost jumped back away from him. "Sounds good." Chris gave him two thumbs up and backed toward the door. "I'll find out where you're staying and pick you up for tonight's excursion. I'll get your contact information from Noelle."

Stetzon had turned back to his work table just in time for Chris to say that he was going to come to his hotel room tonight and he was going to get his contact information. The Chip's eyes widened slightly, but he was careful not to let the other man see it. As soon as the door closed he grumbled, "Good lord." He needed to get to work if he didn't want to be harassed night and day by this guy. Typing as quickly as he could he sent a message to Noelle. Please delete all my information from you pad immediately. Chris is coming for it and I won't get any sleep if he gets it. If Chris was going to take over the case he would have to do things the right way and he was going to have to ask the Chippequoti office back home for the information. When there was a change in officer handling the case the office back home had to be made aware. Stetzon could do it and make it faster, but he didn't want to.

Just to be sure that the man couldn't bother him anymore Stetzon packed the weapon his pack and walked with it to the secure lock up area. "I got something to check in and then I'll need the back up key for it." There was always a double key entry and he didn't want anyone else to be able to mess with this. There were a few things that stayed consistent with the Inter-Galactic Offices.

Once the weapon was locked up Stetzon took himself over to the main part of the office and caught the same guy as yesterday. "Hey, you take me back to my hotel. I need some rest." The guy nodded and Stetzon got into the car with him.When they reached the hotel Stetzon got out and he walked inside and up the stairs to his floor. When he got to his room he let out a long sigh and then decided to get some sleep before he had to deal with the idiot tomorrow. Perhaps it would be late morning before Chris managed to get permissions from his home office to access his contact information. That would be nice.
 
Noelle had just finished up her written report when she got the message from Stetzon. She frowned slightly. Giving out that kind of information wasn't appropriate anyway, as there were other methods one had to take for it. "He won't get it from me. You can still contact me if you need to." She messaged back and downloaded the other investigation information she had into a folder that Chris could access. It primarily included the reports and pictures they had from the last day and the updates from her field agent from what had been going on in the city. Noelle did notably leave out all the information she had about the Chippequoti... Her reasoning would be that it wasn't pertinent to the investigation. Though personally she wanted Chris to be taken off the case due to being an imbecile.

As she was making her leave from the office, Chris caught up to her. "So the big guy..." Noelle lifted an eyebrow at him, but didn't say anything. "Where is he staying? We're going out tonight." She shook her head, "You know I'm not authorized to give you that information." Chris put an arm around her shoulders, which made her notably uncomfortable as she stiffened within his grasp. "C'mon Noe. I know you're mad about the investigation, but don't take that out on me." She managed to get away from him. "All the information I could give you is in my office. If you need something else, go to those that assigned you to the investigation." Noelle flashed him an exaggerated smile before getting into her vehicle to make her way home.

Her drive home was quiet. Once inside her apartment she turned on the TV like usual for the noise as she went about the routine of showering and putting on some pajamas. Tonight for dinner was going to be whatever she could find in the freezer that would be fast to heat up. It was about that time of week to contact her mother. A lot had happened in the last few days to catch up on.

Through her phone she set up a video call. After the usual pleasantries, they started talking more about what had been going on. Her family had a history of working for the secret service, so they understood the concept of that a lot of things couldn't be talked about. They didn't even know what division she worked in. "The investigation I was on was.. Cut short. So that means I get to go on vacation early. If you guys are ready to have me." Her mother actually looked excited to see her sooner, "That sounds great sweetie. Your father will be happy to see you again. It'll be good timing too, school hasn't started yet so everyone will be in town." Even though Noelle was an only child, she had a large family from her father's side mostly. "That will be good to see everyone again." Her mother nodded, "Will Joshua be joining you? We've been looking forward to meeting him." Noelle looked away briefly and sighed, "We're not together anymore." Her mother gave an apologetic look. "It's okay though." They talked about a few other things before calling it a night.

~~~~~~~~~~

After Noelle had avoided Chris' advances, he went back into the building to check out what she had left in the office. None of it was information he wanted. Just pictures and various reports from her field agent. The office driver strolled by, "Is Miss Noelle still here?" Chris shook his head, "Why?" The driver shrugged, "I wanted to let her know the guy is safely at the hotel." Chris had a small grin grow on his face. "Which hotel was he staying at again?"
 
The guy frowned a little at Chris and then shrugged. "Same place we usually put em. Just down at the Marriott on 7th." That was about all the more the guy needed to know. Wasn't like he needed the room number, or anything. He didn't really want to bother with having Chris follow him around nagging him either. Everyone knew the guy could be incredibly insistent when he wanted something.

With that bit of information Chris took himself right down to the hotel. He figured it couldn't be that hard to figure out which room Stetzon would be in. All he had to do was ask for Noelle's room. She was the one that made the reservation, right? When he got to the front desk the woman looked at him and raised a brow when he started to ask about finding a woman here. There were a lot of men that did that, but they didn't usually make themselves so obvious. Typically if they were looking for a woman they would have had her contact information. Carefully she opened the portal for their rooms and scanned the names on the reservations. "I'm sorry, we don't have anyone here staying under that name."

Chris sighed and then decided to try asking about a few other names. After he'd gone through about five the woman smiled nicely and then asked him to wait. Stepping into the back she called for her manager to come deal with the stranger. He was looking for someone, but he was starting to guess wildly and it wasn't typical procedure to just keep looking for someone like that at a whim. You had to know who was staying there.

The manager stepped out after the explanation and glanced at Chris before looking at the screen and noting the several searches that had been done. "I see you're looking for someone. Is there a problem?"

"Uh no." Chris couldn't even tell them that he worked for the Inter-Galactic Police force and even if he did they'd probably think he was nuts. Nobody knew about it here on earth unless they were part of it, in the presidents immediate office and staff, or if they happened to be alien. As it was, he had to simply act like a regular guy and it annoyed it. Why couldn't Stetzon have just told him where he was staying, or even better yet, why hadn't he given him the information on how to contact him. They had come to an understanding and he got the impression that Stetzon liked him better than Noelle. After arguing with the manager he left under the threat that if he returned they'd call the cops.

************************

Stetzon woke up later the next morning and he even felt pretty good. Since he didn't see any information he figured that this was a good time to make a little work of his own without a human tail. First off he took himself downstairs and read all the labels on the foods religiously. If they used corn in many foods then he was going to make sure he didn't eat it again.

After breakfast Stetzon started for a walk around the safer side of town. There wasn't really anything to worry about around these parts. Besides if the office really knew what they were doing they wouldn't have assigned him someone like Chris. More than likely Chris hadn't figured out how to get his contact information. Until he figured that out the day was Stetzon's and he could have a little fun with it. The first stop was a park. He liked to see what kinds of toys the children here on Earth liked. Some of the toys were similar, like the slide, but others were very different. Stetzon moved on about half an hour later and he found himself in a residential street. It could be interesting to see what kinds of homes people lived in. Overall it was quite different from home.
 
It was going to be a few days before Noelle left town to go visit family. There were some things she wanted to do around the home anyway. Since she hadn't heard anything from either the Chippequoti or Chris, she could only figure they were getting along just fine. Maybe it had been for the best of the investigation for her to be taken off. She laughed at that thought for a moment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chris hadn't had much success with finding where Stetzon was sleeping or how to contact him. So he decided to just stake out the place in his car outside. It wouldn't be too hard to see Stetzon leaving the building whenever he got around to doing so. Of course that would've been the case if he hadn't fallen asleep and didn't wake up until the sun started shining on his face. At first he was going to go into the building, but he figured the manager was there and he didn't want to get arrested. That would've been a huge mess for the office to sort out.

There was no telling if Stetzon had already left for the day, so he just waited a few more minutes before driving out of the parking lot. He went a few blocks and parked in front of a diner to look at any updates from Noelle's field agent. Her agent was actually very good at keeping up with anything going on and letting him know. Seemed there was still plenty of talk from yesterday's happenings and that they were looking for Stetzon and Noelle. Chris frowned, it seemed weird they might be looking for Noelle, but he didn't think too much more on it.

Now Chris wasn't going to directly ask the agent if he knew how to contact the Chippequoti, but instead asked if they knew where he was at so far that day. It was quiet for several minutes before a response came through. Seemed to be word of him wandering around some neighborhoods, but nothing specific. Chris sighed and started up his car again in hopes of finding Stetzon. It was to no avail however and Chris felt like majority of the day had been wasted. Around lunch time, he finally got the updated contact information for Stetzon and immediately gave him a call.

"Yo Stetz!" Chris said on pick up in a loud voice. "I must've missed you last night... and this morning. Let's grab lunch and catch up on whats going on." He nodded with what Stetzon had to say. "I dunno man. Sounds like a few people are wanting to see you... and Noelle." Perhaps mentioning the Chippequoti's previous partner would catch his attention enough to be willing to meet up with him. "I'll send you an address where we can meet up in about 20 minutes? Otherwise, I'll need to send a report in." Chris grinned to himself. Whether Stetzon wanted to work with him or not, he wasn't going to let him get out of it that easily.
 
Stetzon walked from one neighborhood to the next. So far he'd observed quite a few things about people. Perhaps some things that would help him blend a little better. One of them would be changing his cargo pants out for some blue jeans and getting a plain t-shirt. They weren't his preferred clothing, but he figured that would be a prudent choice. Turning his pad on he typed in a question of where the nearest clothing shop was for men. Apparently around here there were a lot more shops for women and almost nothing that was specifically for men. In fact, many of the men's shops also had women and children clothes too.

Walking past the residential area he took himself to a shop and started to pick out some clothes. They even had little rooms to try them on. Stetzon had problems finding anything big enough. with some time he eventually found a pair of jeans that were long enough, but he had ended up in a men's specialty shop. Something for cowboys where they made pants extra long.

Mostly he didn't like the way the pants felt so tight. His cargo pants were nice and a bit more loose fitting than these pants were. Whoever had helped him find the pants said they looked good on him and they got a pair of cowboy boots that fit him too. By the time he walked out of the place he had jeans, cowboy boots and a few t-shirts. He blended fairly well with a few of the people and folks seemed to stare less. Taking a seat in one of the parks he decided to look up what a cowboy was. Seemed this sort of person worked outside a lot and that made the brown skin a little more believable. Something they wore quite a bit of were hats too, but a few of them didn't bother too much with the hat.

While he was digging a little more into the human life that he could find based on occupations a call came in and he switched to answer the call. "Hi." Stetzon pulled the phone away from his ear as the guy, Chris practically yelled into it. His ear was still ringing when he put the pad next to his ear. "I already got plans." Naturally the idiot on the other side of the line was trying to make him feel nervous. He knew what this tactic was. It took more than that to make him feel nervous. "I'm not too worried about the people looking for me and Noelle." Right now he had his sites on a few different areas where he'd heard about some action with the police. More than likely these areas of rising crime were a place to hide around and make it look like that's where the problem was, but Stetzon figured anyone who was running like this would be smarter than that. Make trouble where it is expected and then distance yourself. Maybe it was time he started looking into the wealthy folks side of town.

Chris' voice interrupted his thoughts again and the guy wanted to be meeting up. That wouldn't work. He was keen on making trouble and that was about as dumb as you could get. "Hmmm...Well, you do what you have to." Fllicking his pad off Stetzon started making his way back through the residential areas. Maybe not, even wealthy. Someone would wealth could be an easier target, but blending in would be rather important if you didn't want to get caught.

*******************************

Since he'd missed the 20 minute meeting Stetzon figured he'd need to have some sort of report ready. Most of it was done. Last night he'd taken a little time to write down the lunacy of Chris' idea of going right back out at night. After what had happened in clear daylight? It was dumb. They would have less qualms about taking drastic measures at night when citizens were less likely to be around. Once he had finished the report Stetzon sent it to the head of the Office here on Earth and a copy to his Office at home.

To the Chief of the Northwest Territory Inter-Galactic Relations Office,

Yesterday you took an able and intelligent officer off the case. I'm writing to remind you that this was an issue that you contacted my office about and requested help. None of your staff are equipped, or trained to handle this sort of matter. I was sent because I am highly trained and capable of handling this situation. Inter-Galactic Police Force members are not sent without good reason. This is a matter that I cannot afford for agents, such as Chris to be sent to follow me. I do not need a dutiful and dull agent to follow me and compromise the mission. All I require is an able and intelligent officer that recognizes their specialties are separate from my own. I do not require to be watched like a thief. I need guidance and counsel from a well adjusted officer. This is supposed to be a mutual understanding among those from the Inter-Galactic Police Force Offices. At this time I am prepared to return home if the previous officer is not restored as my aid in this case.

Chris has already shown himself to be reckless. Last night he wanted to go back into the same area where I had been attacked by strangers. He said we could catch them off their guard. This dangerous and it displays a tremendous lack of experience. Officer Noelle allowed for me to walk separately from her, so that I would not draw so much attention to myself and possibly compromise the mission. It is essential that your criminal does not perceive that the Inter-Galactic Office is making a case against them. If I have not received a satisfactory response I will be leaving.

Sincerely,

Stetzon Silver-Bear Octova 81 of Julius.

Officer VII Degree and Master of Arms.

***********************

The Chief Officer at the Northwest Office of Inter-Galactic Police Force sighed as he read the letter. It was a bit fiery. Yesterday it seemed that the man barely said a thing, but today there was a lot more to it. Turning down the help that he requested wasn't really acceptable and from what he'd gathered talking to other offices the Chippequoti were not the easiest to deal with. They were known for a lack of diplomacy. It wasn't entirely surprising since he'd recently found out they were last to join the Inter-Galactic Relations committee and pledge a number of their men to the police force. Turned out they just came out of a civil war some years ago.

Gritting his teeth he gave a growl and decided it was time to make a call that he didn't want to. Someone had to clean this mess up and he didn't want to be the one blamed for it in the end. They would simply have to make a few adjustments.
 
Chris had be severely disappointed to have been ditched for lunch. It was actually getting rather irritating to constantly be stood up by the Chippequoti. Not like he had been doing anything wrong. He was doing everything he could to make sure Stetzon felt part of the team. Probably a lot more than Noelle had. Later in the evening he received a call from the Chief. He was barely even able to say 'hello' before his superior started speaking.

"Chris, we're removing you from the case. I do have the utmost confidence you could've been successful, but there has been a situation and we must reinstate Noelle." The blonde man's mouth hung open. "Good day." Then the phone went silent.

~~~~~~~

It had been a good day to get a lot of cleaning done. There were some old clothes and items that Noelle didn't use anymore that she could donate and some things that just needed to be thrown away. She didn't always get a lot of time off, so sometimes it just piled up. Even if the circumstances weren't planned, Noelle wasn't going to dwell on it. Not like she had gotten fired or demoted or anything. It was also a good day to get all of her laundry caught up so she could pack for her trip. When her phone rang Noelle thought it might be one of her family members calling to get more details. Though the name on the screen told her otherwise. It was not common to get calls during vacation or time off unless there was an emergency.

"Noelle, this is Chief Braxton." The familiar voice came through the phone. "Hello, Sir." She said, it was better to keep things short with him in general or risk getting interrupted. When first getting promoted to the supervisory role she thought it had to do with her gender, but it turned out that he was like that with most everyone. "There has.. Been a situation. Long story short, we'll be needing you back on the case with the Chippequoti." Noelle was pretty sure her mouth was hanging open in disbelief. "Sir?" She was finally able to say. "Seems he and Chris weren't the most suitable pairing... Against my better judgement we'll be putting you back on the case. That being said, keep in mind you've already gained one warning." She nodded before realizing he couldn't see it. "Yes, Sir." A sigh could be heard from the man, "Don't mess this up. This is one of the first times any of the Council has worked directly with a Chippequoti and we want to make sure it stays on positive terms." Noelle nodded again, "Yes, Sir." Shortly after the Chief ended the conversation.

The woman stood there silently a few moments, wondering what could've happened to change the Chief's mind. Not much could do that. First she sent a quick text to her mother to let her know that the trip had been postponed due to an assignment. At least she knew they would understand these things came up. Next she dialed the Chippequoti.

After the phone rang a couple times, she heard it be picked up. "Hello, Stetzon Silver-Bear Octova 81 of Julius? This Noelle.. I've been reassigned to the case. I was just calling to get an update on the investigation and to find out if there was a plan for our next action."

Stetzon was prepared to leave and he had his things packed. He was just waiting to find out if they were going to do anything about the fact that he wouldn't work with Chris.When his pad started to ring the Chip stared at it for a moment and then picked it up. He didn't really like talking with a pad, but it was better to make it look like he belonged here. "Noelle, welcome back to the case." He was starting to get a little bothered by her overtly formal way of addressing him. "It's better to call me Stetzon Silver-Bear. Chippequoti don't use the full name often and the case update is pretty boring. So far I've figured out how to blend more and I'm thinking we're dealing with a Light Chippequoti. They're shorter than me and they look just like one of you. This one will be harder to find. I can only think of about 2 Light Chippequoti that can do this that we've lost in the last few years."

Noelle made a mental note of how to address him going further and didn't say anything else about it. Seemed he was working on getting more accustomed to Earth, which was a good thing. Though now he had some theories on who the mastermind was. She was ready to take a few notes on what else he had to say on the two suspects. "What do you know about them? Clearly they are a flight risk, but how dangerous will they be to confront when it becomes necessary? Would there be a risk to innocents?"

"If he's to be confronted it won't be by a human. He is dangerous and yes, there will be a risk to innocents." Stetzon thought for a long moment. "It would be better to talk about this in person." Saying much more was not a good idea when he was using his pad. "Leave anything traceable behind." Whatever was said he wanted off the record and he wanted it to be clear that he wouldn't talk with her if she was going to bring anything that could be traced.

She blinked a few times and ended up not taking note of anything at his sudden change in conversation. "Yes, of course. Just tell me where you want to meet and I'll be there." Noelle started moving around the apartment to put away her usual pad and other gadgets she traditionally took with her everywhere. He basically wanted to be off the grid, so she was going to do that. If the meeting place was close enough, she would even walk just to be doubly sure.

"Meet me in Noleridge Park an hour from now." Stetzon figured that would give her time to get what she needed and he needed the time to get rid of his pad and then he could be back to the Park just a few minutes after her. It was enough time that he would be late, but that was for a reason. If she was going to do something crazy he would know it when he approached. This was the best time to see if he could trust her.

Noelle agreed to the meeting place and then they hung up. Afterward she cleared her calling history and put her phone with the other gadgets she was hiding away in a locked drawer. The park was about a 20 minute walk away, but she was planning on taking a slightly longer route just to be safe that she wasn't followed. Since the evenings were a bit cooler, she put on a pair of jeans and had a light jacket over her t-shirt. The only thing she was planning on having in her pocket was her house key.

She barely made it out her front door when Chris came out of no where. "You got me taken off the case!" He pointed his finger at her as she locked the door. "I don't know what you're talking about." Chris was obviously upset and kept following her down the sidewalk. "You pulled whatever family strings you have to get back on the case." Noelle squinted her green eyes and then looked over at him. "Have you been drinking?" The smell was quite strong from his breath and clothing. "This isn't about me, its about you." He slurred and Noelle shook her head. "We both know the Chief didn't want me on the case, no amount of influence would've gotten me back on. Besides, I was planning on leaving town to go see my family. Why would I avoid that?" She tried to reason with him, and Chris just looked confused. "Hmfph." He made the odd noise when he didn't really have a response. "I think you should call Jessica and have her pick you up." Noelle suggested and Chris got a sloppy grin on his face, "Yeah... I'd like to see Jessica." Noelle rolled her eyes as she kept walking. At least now Chris was distracted with something else that wasn't her.

The neighborhoods were still pretty busy with parents coming home from work and kids playing in the streets. Some of the porch lights were starting to turn on and there were a couple calls for children to come inside for dinner. A simple life seemed a nice dream to have. When Noelle made it to the park, she was a little less than 10 minutes early. She wasn't exactly sure where Stetzon wanted to meet her, so she just slowly walked along the paths. Not like it was a large park to lose each other in. Plus, the Chippequoti would be difficult to miss.
 
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