Deck 9 was a very versatile space. The movable bulkhead setup, allowed the space to be turned into almost any possible configuration one might need, and so, in Agent Ashley Newton’s mind, it was the perfect space to hold the interview with the two members of the crew under investigation.

The room was uncharacteristically small. It held only a table with four chairs, and nothing more. Newton had deemed that to be the strictly necessary. Gesturing for Cal to sit down in a chair across from where she stood, Newton asked “Will you allow me to sit without shooting me first?” There was no sarcasm in her voice, but it was clear that it was a reference to what had happened earlier in the CO’s office.

Sitting down, Newton placed what looked to be a recording device on the table. “If you don’t mind, Colonel, these interviews will be recorded so we can analyze them later and the FCIS can keep them for their records. Let me know when you’re ready to start.”

Tapping the screen of her PaDD, Newton proceeded with the interview. Looking at Cal in the eye, she said in a professional tone, almost as if she had conducted a few of these before.

“For the record, please state your name, rank, and serial number.”

“Let me start by asking you a few questions about what happened. You and a team of your crew members travelled by shuttle to the planet Beta Prime, a planet that holds an old human colony with whom first contact had been made just recently. How did you come to know about this planet, and what prompted you to go down to the surface?”

FCIS Agent Ashley Newton