Chapter -71 : The Confined Wolf

Outer Sector Outpost 7, Imperial Periphery

The pronouncement by Investigator Thorne hung in the chilled air of Auxiliary Control Bravo like a death knell. Relieved of duty, confined to quarters, under guard. Valerius felt the cold steel of the Navy's disciplinary apparatus closing around him. His carefully constructed facade, already strained by Kaelen's relentless suspicion and the anomaly's interference, had been shattered by the unexpected detection of the unstable plasma core.

Two Navy security guards, their faces impassive, their energy signatures steady M2-Kinetic equivalents, stepped forward. "Lieutenant Valerius, if you'll accompany us," one said, his voice devoid of inflection.

Valerius offered no resistance. He unclipped his command override access card from his uniform and placed it beside his sidearm on the console. He met Thorne's icy holographic gaze, then Jian's narrowed, analytical stare, and finally Kaelen's expression – a complex mixture of triumph, vindication, and a dawning understanding that the stakes were even higher than he'd imagined.

The walk to his quarters was a silent, escorted journey through corridors now patrolled by unfamiliar Navy personnel who glanced at him with detached curiosity. The guards stationed outside his door were new, their presence a constant reminder of his confinement.

Once inside, the door sealed with a heavy, final-sounding thud. Valerius surveyed his small room. It felt less like a sanctuary now and more like a cage. The unstable plasma core, hidden beneath his bunk in its dampening case, pulsed with a faint, almost mocking energy. It was the source of his current predicament, yet also his only hope for a significant power boost if he could ever find a way to safely access it again.

His System remained a source of profound frustration.

<>

Sixteen hours for even basic diagnostics. He was effectively blind, relying on his own impaired Wargod senses in a situation that demanded flawless information and foresight.

He didn't have to wait long. Within the hour, his door chimed. Investigator Thorne entered, flanked by Lieutenant Commander Jian and two more security guards who remained by the door. Kaelen was not present, a small mercy.

"Lieutenant Valerius," Thorne began, her voice as cold and precise as a surgical instrument. "We will begin with the unauthorized energy source. Where is it?"

There was no point in further denial. "It is beneath my bunk, Investigator, secured in a portable energy dampening case."

One of the guards, equipped with a handheld energy scanner, approached the bunk. The scanner whined, its readings spiking. "Confirmed, Investigator. High-density, unstable plasma signature, partially dampened."

Thorne nodded. "Retrieve it. Carefully."

The guards cautiously extracted the case. Thorne herself took it, placing it on Valerius's small desk. She didn't attempt to open it immediately. "Your explanation for its possession, Lieutenant – that you salvaged it from the crashed Scorpion frigate – is… problematic. The frigate's core would have been obliterated or rendered inert. This core is active, dangerously so."

Valerius maintained his composure. His initial lie was clearly untenable. He needed a new narrative, one that admitted wrongdoing but perhaps mitigated the perceived threat. "My initial statement was… incomplete, Investigator, made under duress. The core was not from the frigate. I discovered it some time ago within a mislabeled, forgotten container in Secure Storage Unit 7-C during a routine inventory check I undertook on my own initiative. Its instability was immediately apparent. I brought it here for closer study, intending to understand its properties and potential danger before filing a full report. It was a severe error in judgment, a breach of protocol, for which I take full responsibility."

He cast himself as overzealous, perhaps arrogant in his belief he could handle it, but not malicious.

Jian stepped forward. "Secure Storage 7-C? That unit contains low-priority confiscated goods. Why would a plasma core of this nature be there, mislabeled?"

"That, Lieutenant Commander, is a question I was attempting to answer," Valerius replied smoothly. "Its presence was highly anomalous. I suspected it might have been overlooked, perhaps even deliberately hidden." He was trying to deflect, to imply a larger mystery beyond his own actions.

Thorne's eyes narrowed. "And you chose not to report this 'highly anomalous' discovery to Commander Vorlag or any other superior officer?"

"I intended to, Investigator, once I had a clearer understanding of its stability and origin," Valerius maintained. "My methods were flawed, a clear dereliction of standard procedure. I misjudged the risk."

"Misjudged the risk?" Thorne's voice was laced with sarcasm. "This core, Lieutenant, according to our preliminary remote readings, is potent enough, if it were to detonate, to cripple this entire outpost wing. And you kept it in your personal quarters." She paused, letting the weight of the accusation settle. "And what of the energy transients Lieutenant Kaelen logged near the decommissioned testing bay and the Xenobotanical Lab during reactor shutdowns? Coincidentally, times when you were observed moving a shielded utility case. Were you 'studying' the core in those locations as well, Lieutenant?"

Valerius felt the trap tighten. They had his movements, the core, and Kaelen's anomalous readings. "I was attempting to find a shielded environment to conduct diagnostic scans on its containment field, Investigator, without exposing the main outpost to its energy signature. Again, a breach of protocol, driven by a misguided attempt to assess the threat independently."

"Or," Thorne countered, her voice dropping, "were you attempting to tap this core, Lieutenant? To use its power for your own purposes? Perhaps to explain certain… improbable successes during the recent battle?"

This was the heart of it. Kaelen's theory, now given terrifying weight by the discovery of the core.

Valerius met her gaze directly. "Investigator, I am a High-Level Warrior. Tapping an unstable plasma core of this magnitude is far beyond my capabilities or training. My actions during the battle were as reported: exploiting enemy weaknesses under extreme duress. The core was a separate, ill-advised investigation on my part." He had to deny any connection to his Wargod abilities, to the System. That secret was paramount.

Thorne remained silent for a long moment, her gaze unwavering. Jian watched him, his expression a mixture of suspicion and analytical curiosity.

Finally, Thorne spoke. "Your explanations are noted, Lieutenant Valerius. They are also… insufficient. The core will be secured by my team for immediate analysis. You will remain confined to quarters. A formal interrogation will follow. We will uncover the truth of this matter, and its connection, if any, to the other anomalies plaguing this outpost."

She gestured to the guards. One carefully took the dampened case containing the plasma core. Thorne and Jian turned and left, the guards re-securing the door.

Valerius was alone again, the weight of the core physically gone, but the weight of its discovery pressing down on him with crushing force. They had the core. They had his movements. Kaelen was connecting the dots. His System was crippled. He was confined, his career, his freedom, perhaps even his life, hanging by the thinnest of threads.

He had been unveiled, his secrets partially exposed. The game was far from over, but he had just lost several critical pieces.