Side story: meeting in orbit of P8

"Doctor Hangglock, please remain calm. You have not violated any regulations or laws, nor could they possess any evidence suggesting you could have intended to violate them. Effectively this is little more than security check after the Raider attack and to gather information from our clean up efforts." This reassurance did little to calm the Doctor, not since he had learned who was aboard the cruiser currently attached to the side of their research vessel.

The rest of the Doctor's staff stood to one side of the room, practically singling him out as his lone blubbery mass stood at the center of the bay watching the doors waiting for their ship to be boarded by the Empire's enforcers. And then with a simple chime, the doors slid open and four Hevmun Armairds, the elites of the Empire's infantry, stormed into the ship rifles at their sides. Though that certainly didn't mean anyone was safe, due to eugenics and bioengineering their fur alone could shrug off small arms fire, and their armored fists could breach titanium. Yet their presence, even if they had been on his side, gave the doctor no sense of safety in light of what was following after them.

From the darkness of the bridge between the two vessels the doctor could hear the sound of his nightmares. Tic-clack, tic-clack and soon two glowing blue orbs could be seen in the darkness swaying ever so slightly with each tic. The terror that haunted the Doctor's dreams then stopped just before the lights of the research vessel, their glow looking in analyzing every detail.

"Dooctor Hangglock, it iss such a honor to finally be able to meet onne another in personn." The voice was smooth, yet chopped or drawled on at strange places. And the source of the voice was no less unnerving, the doctor was proud of being a large individual, usually most Hevmunoids might be just a little shorter than he was, and no where nearly as large around, but with it's hunched posture, all four of its long spindly arms clutched behind it's back, this being still towered over the Doctor. It's narrow green face had a far too wide smile, with far too many predators teeth, and it's eyes and tone always seemed to carry a sense that it was silently laughing at a joke that only it knew. And as it walked into the light the talons of its feet tic-clacked against the metal flooring.

"I'm honored, Lord Dunwall, but we have met before. During the project objective and resource allocation meeting two years..." Hangglock tried to answer the creature, but it seemed to sweep down becoming eye level, that grinning face far too close for the Doctor's liking.

"Buut there were sso many others, there. Wee never had a chance to talk alone. So much for you and I to... Discuss." The creature of unknown species retorted while pulling up and away from the near panicked Doctor.

"Well as you can see, everything is fine here and out clean-u..."

"Iss it? Annd here I thought the degenerate Doctor Hangglock haad lost a shipp full of bio-weapons." The grin only widened but now one of the being's arms had come out from behind its back, a long talon gently tapping on Hangglock's chest, each tap piercing flesh and drawing blood.

"Correction, Doctor Hangglock had not violated any procedural recommendation and had taken the optimal..." A.I. tried to interject in Hangglock's defense, but the other being cut it off with a single word.

"Delvorah." Suddenly the speakers broke into distorted static, and soon the sound of a pained scream came through them which lasted far too long and each second widened the Lord's perpetual smile.

"A.I. incapacitated Master."

The glowing blue eyes then locked into the doctor. "I knoww you were planning to, use, this... Eexperiment as a excuse to laze about inndulging in your deviancy Doctor. Acceptable, howevver you then lost an entire ship full of prodduct. And afterr I had been your numbber one supporter."

"N-number one supporter, you voted against my proposals countless times." Hangglock shouted at the being.

"And you made them better each tiime, like I knew you would. Tell me Doctor..." The creature swept in, pushing it's claw into Hangglock's chest again, the Doctor's well trained eyes picking up a gleam of something coating the claw, and her prayed it wasn't a toxin. "... Myy beautician says my claws look better with a darkened steel, but I always thought it looked betterr coated in oobsidian, which do you think loooks best?"

"Y-your can't fuck with me like this. I-I'm the genius behind half the Genesalt project!" If this thing thought it could toy with him like this, Doctor Hangglock would remind it where they both stand!

"Yes, a genius. Buut to the others, genius is quickly showing to not by ssynomanus with priceless. And you're starting to exxceed what you are worth. The cycles on this planet they are called yeaars, correct? You have one and a half of these yearss, to collect the remains of ouur ship and to implement a test of any kind of your... Project on the local speccies. Otherwise you'll become very... Replaceable, though I do intend to keep that lovely brain of yourrs, for my own... Amusement." The living, waking nightmare proclaimed, then began to walk away. Tic-tack, Tic-tack, just as standard Empire Marines, technicians, and various support staff began to file onto the doctor's ship and the distorted sound of A.I. coming back online began the moment that Lord Dunwall of the Empire's military advisory council left the Doctors ship.