[Freezair]

A little glowing spitball of energy mweeoped out of her blaster and caught the Soveris on the claws. With a choked "Gyark!", he fell to the ground, moaning much like the Paragon was.

She knew her bosses had protocol for nutcases like this one. She'd just cuff him, haul him out with her, and they'd deal with him. And she'd cringe all the while that she had to go as far as stunning him.

She had much less mercy for the Paragon. He'd come out swinging.

"Now. Sir." She knelt down to be closer to his face, but she made sure to stay out of bite range. "Let's you and I have a little talk."

[Freezair]

"My name's Nara Sumas, and I'm with--"--she paused a little, thinking of the looky-loo trussed up behind her--"--the Evelonian Institute of Interplantary Relations."

She heard a gurgled gasp, as if the Soveris had wanted to say "I knew it!" but couldn't quite control his tongue.

"During the previous local night cycle, your escape pod crash-landed on this, the third planet of the local system, known both in domestic and intersteller parlance as Evelon. This is a Category 2 planet and closed participant in interstellar relations. Was this planet your intended destination?"

[Freezair]

The Paragon shifted; his muscles seemed to groan along with him. "Y... yeah," he hissed.

Nara's tails drooped with relief. His weary tone of voice was surprisingly cooperative. Maybe he hadn't known he was tangling with law enforcement.

"Well, that makes things a lot easier for us, then." She tried to put as much compassion into her voice as she could, even though her back was still smarting from where he'd jumped her. "If you can give me your ship's license and registra--"

"I'm jus... just gonna stop you... right there," he croaked. "As--asylum. Right... of... ow ow ow crap."

[Freezair]

Nara drew back, eyes wide.

"Sir, are you aware that you've threatened and potentially assaulted a civilian, and that that could severely jeopardize your request for asylum?"

"I wass--wasn't planning on getting this far," he wheezed. "I was hoping to just... s-s-slip away. But go on! Drag me off to prison here. Lock me up." He coughed. "That's still a big fat set of iron bars between me and them." He drew in a groaning breath. "It's... Michael, by the way."

[Freezair]

Michael, Nara thought. That's a much more Evelonian name than an interstellar one. And I don't think there's any doubt as to his species. Just what is going on here...?

"L-l-look, as much as I hate to be cliché... Take... take me to your leader. Or whatever. Shackles, lascapsules, do your worst." He let out a small groan, as if somehow remembering punishments yet to come. "Just let me talk to the big guy--not a two-bit lackey."

Nara's fur stood on end. Two-bit!

But he was asking to be taken to headquarters...

[Freezair]

Even though it was concealed by the trees, Nara glanced back at her repelcraft.

She could cart back the Soveris no problem. But even if her ride could, in theory, cart both the nosy manchild and the massive Paragon, there was no way she could do it clandestinely. She'd have a giant net dangling beneath her the whole way, like she'd gone trawling in the sky and caught herself a lunker.

She jogged back to her vehicle to grab her cuffs before the stunning wore off--just in case the Paragon was making some sort of ploy. He'd already attacked despite claiming asylum, after all. But she also needed to put in a call to HQ. She definitedly needed a pickup...