"I am not going to Earth," Denton said forcefully as he stood by the window in the sergeant's office, glaring out the window at the city below. "I'm not going. Why should I have to?"
"Staxx, you really don't have much of a choice," the sergeant responded from behind his desk, a pen tapping rapidly against the desk surface. "You got us into this mess, so it's on you to clean it up. What were you even thinking, visiting a foreign embassy without the proper authorization? A heads up would have been nice. You're lucky I was able to get through to the ambassador and warn her you were on your way."
"You make it sound like I'm some kind of criminal."
The sergeant shook his head and sighed. "You're not a criminal, obviously, but in this case, your behavior was completely unacceptable. You just can't do that. You know better."
Denton turned and faced the sergeant and his desk. "But they let her go, Sarge, I just couldn't let that slide. Gabi is the key to this whole thing, and you know it. Without her, this case is going nowhere fast."
"I should remind you, Staxx, that you almost caused a diplomatic incident with your stunt. The Colonel is breathing down my neck to have you stationed at some distant moon until you're walking with a cane. In fact, he'd rather not ever see you again."
Denton sighed and walked over to the chair in front of the desk and sat down. "You know how I feel about Earth, right?"
The sergeant nodded. "Of course I do. But in this case, Staxx, there's really not a whole lot I can do about it. You made the mess, you got to clean it up."
Denton shook his head. "I'm telling you, she knew exactly what she was doing. She practically taunted me. I bet you she knew my history and about my past experience with Earth. As far as I'm concerned, this should have been a diplomatic incident."
"I thought you said she was nice?"
"Well, yes, she was. She was very accommodating and, well, diplomatic. She actually made the whole thing seem like no big deal. I walked out of her office and even felt pretty good about going to Earth. It wasn't until I was on my way over here that I realized what had happened. I'm telling you, Sarge, she's a master manipulator."
"Maybe she is, maybe she isn't, who knows? The point is, it's a done deal. Either you go to Earth, or you won't set foot on Proxima b for a very long time. It's that simple. It's your choice, Staxx."
"Maybe some isolated chunk of ice would be better," Denton muttered as he ran his hands through his hair. The thought of going to Earth made him feel sick to his stomach.
"You don't mean that."
"Look, my whole family..." Denton said and then let his voice trail off. There was no point in bringing up the tragedy again. The sergeant already knew everything. He looked up at his superior, nodded and sighed. "Alright, I'll go, but I'm telling you, I don't feel right about this. We're being played somehow, I can feel it. She was too quick to pull me into her office and offer a solution, pretending to have diplomatic relations in mind. I'm not buying it."
The sergeant leaned forward. "You know, I bet you're right, and if that's the case, this is a great opportunity to prove your point and gather some intel while you're at it. Solve the case and show the Colonel it would be a mistake to get rid of you."
Denton shook his head and leaned back in his chair. "I don't like it."
"Noted," the sergeant said as he slid a stack of papers across the desk to Denton. "Here's all your travel information. You'll have digital copies as well but..."
"I know, I know, you prefer hard copies," Denon said and started flipping through the pages. He paused on a page that looked like a personnel file. "Who's this?" he said and showed the page to the sergeant.
"That's your guide. He'll meet you when you arrive in Earth orbit."
"Oh, a babysitter?" Denton said and threw his hands up in the air and rolled his eyes. "So, I'm invited, but I only get to see what they want me to see? Is that it?"
The Sergeant put his hands up in the air. "I'm just telling you what they told me. I don't know what his role is besides being your guide."
"Can I at least bring Tanner with me? I need his analytics if I'm going to solve this."
"Tanner? I don't know..."
"It's the least you can do if you're forcing me on this mission. I need some sort of backup, someone I can trust."
"I thought he drove you nuts?"
"He does, but at least I know what to expect from him."
"I'm not sure, the logistics of sending both of you to Earth, it's a nightmare. Not to mention the cost. The Colonel will have a heart attack."
"You want me to solve this thing or not?"
"Staxx, bringing Tanner is not just a matter of packing a suitcase, and you know it. He's heavily dependent on the data network and resources he's connected to here. Traveling, his knowledge and his ability to help you will be severely diminished. I don't think it's a good idea."
"It's better than nothing. Besides, he's a fast learner. He only needs to be connected to the Terran network, and he'll be all set. Even if he can't, he can analyze any data I feed him much quicker than I can."
The Sergeant sighed and thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, Tanner comes along. I'll make it happen."
"Thank you, Sarge."
"Don't thank me yet."