The large Ramesian battle cruiser floated over the blue planet. It was the mother ship and the home of the fleet commander. The fleet commander stood at the window in his personal living space and peered down, watching the swirling layer of clouds that hovered over the surface of the planet.

The communications with the surface had been restored. The communications were down because a group of Romanians had formed a militia and had decided to go after the human population of the planet. Their leader, the former Chief Medic, had been responsible for forming the group. His name was Chief Medic Kaul. The surface had cut off communications to fend off others that he could recruit to his cause. It seemed to have worked.

The buzz of his call button echoed through his chambers to notify him of someone outside his door. "Enter!" he called, not bothering to turn and see who it was. His eyes were still focused on the swirling clouds beneath him.

The door slid smoothly open, and one of the lab techs walked in. "Sir, four of the humans have been interrogated with the truth serum. All four of them are now in stasis because of it. So is the prisoner that was used to test the serum. The medics on the surface are trying to save them," The tech informed him. Fleet Commander Lerian had ordered the techs to keep him informed of the results of the human version of the truth serum.

Fleet Commander Lerian nodded, his gaze not wavering from the window. "Did the medics on the surface figure out why the human truth serum didn't work?" Fleet Commander Lerian asked the tech.

"It is unclear, sir. The medics on the planet's surface have not notified our chief lab officer of their findings," the tech reported. "They have not communicated regarding the serum at all."

Fleet Commander Lerian turned to face the young tech. "They are probably trying to gather information first. Notify me as soon as they find out. I want to know exactly what happened."

The tech quickly gave the sign of respect. "Yes, sir," he stated, then stood waiting for more instruction.

"You're dismissed," Fleet Commander Lerian barked, not sure why the young tech was still standing in front of him.

The tech nodded, then quickly exited Lerian's personal chambers, the door sliding closed behind him, locking him out.

Fleet Commander Lerian quickly changed into battle gear and exited his chambers, heading for the shuttle bay. Not that he wanted to go to the surface; he was going to in order to find out what happened with the truth serum. He needed to find out if someone on his ship was responsible for the humans in stasis.

Listening to the groups of his crew whisper as he passed them, he didn't notice any of them speaking of the current issues pertaining to humans or the mixed population on the planet. He could detect no complaints of any of it.

When he entered the shuttle bay, his pilot and co-pilot were standing at the open shuttle door waiting for him.

As he passed Pilot Tresk, his personal pilot, he quickly scanned behind him before entering the shuttle. He didn't want to go to the surface. He didn't like leaving his ship.

"Take me to the surface's main dome," he ordered the pilot.

The pilot entered the shuttle with co-pilot Strem close behind. "Yes, Sir," Pilot Tresk stated as he made his way to the pilot's chair.

Co-pilot Strem sat down in his own chair, strapping himself in.

Once they were all seated, the door closed. The sound of the exhaust hissed as they started the flight sequence. Once completed, the shuttle smoothly lifted from the floor and glided out of the shuttle bay and into open space.

The silence in the cabin was deafening. The only sound was the engines and the soft sound the controls made as the two men flying the small craft took it to the surface of the planet.

The craft glided down to the planet, then flew smoothly to the landing pad on the far side of the main dome.

While Fleet Commander Lerian waited, the shuttle started its landing sequence, and then the doors opened.

"Stand by," Fleet Commander Lerian ordered; not looking at the two pilots, he stormed out of the shuttle. Tension washed over him in waves.

Fleet Commander Lerian made his way to the clinic. He didn't know which one had the stasis room, but he was determined to find it.

Walking into the first clinic, all eyes turned to him. Shock on many of their faces. Fleet Commander Lerian had never come to the surface before. All of them quickly gave the gesture of respect.

"Is there something you need from us," a female medic asked. Her nametag declared her as being Medic Rai.

"I'm looking for the stasis room," Fleet Commander Lerian barked. "Which clinic is it in?"

"It's the closest to the prison, sir," Medic Rai informed him, unaffected by his tone. "Do you need me to take you there, sir?"

"I can find it," he growled. "I know where the prison is."

Fleet Commander Lerian stormed out of the clinic and headed toward the prison, looking for the clinic as he did. When he found the prison, he backtracked to find the clinic. Once he found it, he stepped in. All eyes went to him, shock on their faces before they all gave him the gesture of respect.

"Point me to the stasis room," he ordered. His voice was hard. There was a lot on his mind; he didn't have time to be nice.

"Through those doors," a medic notified him, pointing at a set of sliding doors. "The stasis room is there. Medic Renn is treating the patients, sir."

Fleet Commander Lerian walked through the main room and entered the sliding doors. He looked around. There were six beds lined in a tight row. Five of them, each had a protective barrier; one bed was empty. The humans inside had a mint-green mist covering them.

Medic Renn looked up, quickly giving the sign of respect before ushering him over. "I'm Medic Renn. Is it safe to assume you are investigating the tampered-with truth serum?" the medic asked.

Fleet Commander Lerian nodded. "Did you find out if it was from my ship, or was it tampered with after it arrived?"

Medic Renn pointed to the five beds with occupants. "See the male?" Renn asked. "He was the first one to receive the truth serum. It was replicated before it was given to him. The injector on him was not a replicator version. It came from your ship. The other four were given replications of the same injector. They are all fighting to survive. Two of them have sons. Their mates are Guard Commander Drevick and Gate guard Trei," Renn explained. "That one is Orik's mate," he said, pointing to Jada. "That one there is Gate Commander Seeran's mate," he said, pointing to Hope.

"So, there is no doubt whatsoever that the tampered formula was from my ship?" Fleet Commander Lerian asked in order to clarify.

"There is a doubt, sir. The injector in question passed through a lot of hands. Any one of them could have tampered with it before it was given to the prisoner that we tested it on," Medic Renn explained.

"How do you know that it was tampered with? What if it was merely a failed serum?" Lerian asked him, trying to find a solution. A reason for the near deaths of the five humans in stasis.

Medic Renn pressed several buttons on the display panel. Two screens appeared with nearly the same bio-thread. "This one is the original formula. It was used on a prisoner this morning. After he was questioned, he was freed, no longer a prisoner. He is fine and waiting for Council Leader Vorik to locate a dwelling for him. This one is the one that has been tampered with," he said, pointing to the bio-thread with the added poison. "When the toxin was analyzed, we found it was a poison. One that can't be siphoned. If we try to clean their blood, it will kill them faster. The substance binds to the tissue, making the toxin stronger. I should also point out that this toxin is deadly to us as well. We have seen it work on one of our own before the interrogations. When Keirn died, he experienced the same type of symptoms. I believe the toxin itself came from the surface and not the ship."

"Can we interrogate everyone that has touched the original injector from both my ship and the dome?" Fleet Commander Lerian asked.

Medic Renn smiled. "I have a list of all those who have touched it from the dome. If you wish to interrogate any of us, then I believe it will help us find answers. I don't have the list from your ship, though. That is something you would have to discover."

"You were one of them that touched it?" Fleet Commander Lerian asked, his voice going hard.

"I did. I was the one who injected both the prisoner and one of the girls lying there. That group of girls is all responsible for our relative peace on this planet. That one," he said, pointing to Niki, "Is the one that killed Tosh. She then gave the leadership to Feet Commander Vorik. "That one," he said, pointing to Jada, "took Commander Grev's head, ending the influence of the controlling serum." Medic Renn pointed at Aleigha. "That one took out the human resistance leader who tried to feed his people our own people's flesh. She ended the battle, saving a lot of lives."

"And the last girl?" Fleet Commander Lerian asked, pointing to Hope.

"Her name is Hope. Besides being the one to literally break Chief Medic Kaul for trying to kill her and her mate and for forming the militia, she was a large help in stopping her brother Travis, the human resistance leader. She was also immune to the toxin that made the humans zombies. In the beginning, she was thought to be the cure," Medic Renn explained.

Fleet Commander Lerian paced the small space in front of the rows of beds as he thought, trying to put the pieces together. "Then all four of them are considered powerful. They are also mated to high-ranking officers, except for the one mated to the gate guard."

Medic Renn sat in his chair and looked at the fleet commander. "Guard Commander Drevick and Gate Guard Trei were not their original mates. Aleigha's mate was Merrick. Council Leader Vorik's own pilot. Her sister Niki was mated to Vorik's co-pilot, Rask. The girls' original mates plotted to kill Aleigha to hide the bond that was broken because Merrick had a mistress. They were executed for it by Guard Commander Drevick. Later, Aleigha and Drevick discovered they were mates," Renn explained, then laughed. "Aleigha fought the bond with him, not wanting another mate after what Merrick did to her. It took a little time, but they are now happy with each other."

"Then what else connects them?" Fleet Commander Lerian hissed.

Medic Renn thought about it for a moment. "All four girls are supporters and friends of Council Leader Vorik. Three of them are known to be highly skilled in weapons and very protective of our leader. Humans aren't used to having a good leader. They are trying to keep him safe to keep him in his position for as long as possible. Hope, however, may have been a casualty that was not expected. I believe the best thing you can do is interrogate everyone involved in the development of the truth serum and everyone who touched the injector that the first prisoner was injected with," Medic Renn concluded.

"Even you?" Fleet Commander Lerian asked the medic, one brow raised.

"I did touch the injector, so yes, even me. I want no question of my innocence," Medic Renn told him. "I think anyone, even the pilots who flew it down, needs to be interrogated."

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