Gabatrix: The Pirates of Palora

Chapter 17: Purging the Rats

"I never thought of you as some tyrant!" Torrin yelled as he continued to flail his arms about.

The convict struggled even if he was wearing himself out. Enlai easily moved the man through the centripetal ring's passageway. They were nearing the brig room.

Not far from the scene, Zalika and Bekra watched the prisoner as Torrin fought and yelled. Zalika was the one who was perhaps more visibly shaken. The scowling and utter anger on her face had her hand trembling to her side. She wanted to beat the person senseless and enact her revenge against him. However, Bekra stood beside her. The anthrooviraptor had her clawed hand holding Zalika's wrist in hopes of preventing her mate from lashing against Torrin.

Not far behind the struggling tyrant were Stone and Shira.

"Ensign Genji has been placed under arrest," Stone told the Captain. "Ioren found her heading to the galley to eat. She'll be heading this way soon."

They reached the door as Enlai and Torrin came to a stop. The convict scowled. For a brief moment, his eyes befell Zalika's. It didn't take long before Ioren appeared on the other side of the passageway. Despite Ioren's smaller size, Ensign Genji seemed more cooperative. She was in handcuffs as they slowly walked past the convict. Torrin never even looked at her.

"This what you enjoy doing, Captain?" Torrin asked her. "Trying to clean house? There's more that'll follow."

"Shut up!" Stone told him. "Marine, hold your hand over his mouth if he doesn't stop yammering!"

Enlai didn't need to be told twice. However, the prisoner quieted down while his frustrations remained. As Ioren and Genji approached the scene, the ensign's face slowly looked up to Shira. The Shal'rein held her hand up for the two to halt. Meanwhile, Stone walked up to the ensign, practically ready to backhand her.

"Ensign Genji," Stone berated her. "You're a disgrace to that uniform."

"On what grounds?" she asked with little anguish.

"Conspiring with the pirates."

Genji seemed like she was more defeated than anything, like being caught was the worst of her troubles. Shira slowly approached her, her hands still behind her.

"Curious," Shira calmly asked her. "Why were you ready to commit to such an action, to begin with?"

"Talk," Stone said, seeing the ensign's hesitation. "The sooner we can evaluate your guilt, the sooner we can extradite you and find a befitting sentence for your hide."

"Stone.....perhaps our guest wishes to speak."

Genji relented. "I found out a couple of weeks ago that Batrice has my brother....," she explained with her head down. "I was hoping for some money. He voiced his opinion about the regime change. They supposedly have him imprisoned. A bail is posted, but it's outrageous.....It's too much...."

"So you needed money to free your brother. Very well. Your case will be presented in the court-martial. Unfortunately, you decided to lash out against my crew and betray this ship in the process. Instead of going through your chain of command, you acted on your own accord."

"It's no excuse for betraying that uniform, sailor," Stone added.

"But, it may be possible that somebody in your tribunal will listen to your predicament. A shame, really. You were quite new to this ship. If you spent more time learning about the other crew members, you would learn that you weren't alone in this. However, in the end, they choose to serve this ship and the UWA. Ioren, take her to her quarters....."