File her report

Kira retreated to the small command center, determined to focus on something structured. Her official report on the capture was overdue, and filing it would **** her mind back to the proper perspective. She was an officer doing her job, not... whatever had just happened in that cargo bay.

She settled into the pilot's chair and pulled out her personal datapad. The ship's communication array would need to interface with it to transmit the report through the secure channels. She located the connection port and plugged in her device, watching as the screens lit up with the standard connection protocols.

For a brief moment, she thought she saw an unusual data pattern flicker across the ship's main display, but it was gone before she could focus on it. Probably just the unfamiliar interface establishing connection parameters.

Her fingers hovered over the screen as she collected her thoughts, trying to organize the chaotic events of the past few days into a coherent narrative. The pursuit had been going on for over three years, but the final confrontation had unfolded in less than six hours.

She began typing:

Official report: Apprehension of subject Vrax'lian Thaz, filed by Officer Kira Leyland, Special Operations Division.

After tracking the subject's vessel to the Pallas-9 system, I intercepted his attempt to break atmosphere on the fourth moon. Subject's vessel, identified as the Obsidian Whisper, performed evasive maneuvers and initiated combat protocols. My pursuit craft sustained damage to the lateral stabilizers during the initial exchange.

The chase continued into lower atmosphere, where the increased drag affected both vessels. I maintained pursuit through the cloud layer, where Subject attempted to use the limited visibility to his advantage. My targeting systems were compromised by atmospheric interference, but I managed to score a direct hit on his propulsion system with manually aimed fire.

Both vessels lost primary engine function. My craft was critically damaged, forcing emergency ejection at approximately 3,000 meters. Subject's vessel managed a controlled glide landing. I deployed my atmospheric descent pack and navigated to the landing site, arriving approximately seventeen minutes after Subject's touchdown.

Kira paused, flexing her hand. The memory of what happened next was still razor-sharp: the rain-soaked clearing, the smell of burnt circuitry and scorched metal, the weight of her stun batons in her hands.

Subject had exited his vessel and was attempting to access an emergency beacon when I approached. I identified myself as law enforcement and ordered his surrender. Subject responded with immediate hostility, deploying a concealed energy weapon and opening fire.

I sustained a minor wound to my left side during the initial exchange but was able to maintain tactical advantage using the damaged vessel for cover. Subject demonstrated advanced combat training and significant physical advantages due to his species' natural attributes.

The confrontation lasted approximately twelve minutes before I was able to maneuver behind Subject and disable him with a direct application of both stun batons to his neural centers. Subject was then restrained using emergency containment cuffs.

She omitted the details of how close it had been - how his fangs had caught her side when she'd thought he was fully incapacitated, how she'd nearly blacked out from the pain before managing to apply the second stun pulse directly to his brain stem. Some things didn't need to be in the official record.

I secured the crash site and signaled for extraction. While awaiting transport, I performed standard prisoner processing and secured Subject in the containment area of my damaged vessel.

Her jaw clenched as she typed the next part:

Two hours after reporting successful capture, I received encrypted orders to provide Subject with a secure datapad containing classified communications. After Subject reviewed these communications, he indicated acceptance of terms unknown to me.

I was subsequently informed that Subject's status had been changed from 'high-value prisoner' to 'protected witness' and that my new assignment was to transport him safely to the Central Judiciary Complex on Artemis Station for testimony in case file #JD-7729-B.

With my pursuit vessel damaged beyond repair, I commandeered Subject's ship, the Obsidian Whisper, for transport purposes.

She finished with the standard confirmations and authorizations, then disconnected her datapad from the ship's systems. For a moment, she stared at the final lines of her report. Three years of pursuit, countless hours of investigation, the names and faces of dozens of victims who would never see justice... all reduced to a footnote about a change in status.

The bitter taste in her mouth had nothing to do with the terrible coffee.