Things were looking grim,' thought an exasperated Torsha.
She continuously watched as her section chief discussed and argued with a trio of mediators in the far corner of the debriefing room.
Torsha recognised the mediators instantly, simply by the cut of their clothes. She didn't need to see their identification badges, but from which office and what purpose she could not decipher.
Whatever the makeup of the conversation, the 'Virus' was definitely on the defensive as the three law officials pressed home their own special means of attack.
As one suit would finish a sentence, Virsham would offer her side of the story, arms crossed with a defiant posture. Before she was given time to finish another 'suit' would interrupt with a fresh new line of verbal attack.
Torsha knew it wouldn't be long before the cracks would appear in her chief's stance and she just itched at the chance to make her very own verbal defence! She'd tell it as it was and no mistake! Whatever it was!
Fact was, Torsha despised mediators with a passion. Self appointed Officials with an incalculable amount of authority, custom-built civil servants with the power of the law office. Pan-Galactic diplomatic ambassadors with seriously high connections, excessive knowledge of alien law and a thirst for making exuberant amounts of money. And their presence could mean only one thing - Somewhere, an entire race or species had a major complaint to make and recompense to be made.
To see one mediator was bad enough but three! Torsha couldn't help but feel uneasy.
With an almost indifferent turn, one of the 'suits' addressed Torsha, his use of the FRS section chief obviously at an end.
  "Officer Sa Madille," he announced with a deep resonating voice, "would you care to offer your deliberation?"
He gestured towards one of the vacant chairs at the main table at the front of the room, Virsham backed away from the group, relief and expectancy in her expression.
As Torsha moved to take her seat, she noted how the trio of men combined to position their chairs in a semi-circle around her own.
'I'm being fed to the wolves!' Torsha observed with trepidation.
The silence tweaked the nerves as the ISF Officer took her seat. She glanced from face to face waiting for someone to open the questioning. The pause before the storm was becoming increasingly unbearable.
All three mediators were human Torsha observed, with the same impeccable lifestyle etched in their clothes and physiques.
Each one had deeply tanned features with not a rogue facial hair among them. Their broad shoulders and slim waistlines emphasised by the sleek tailored lines of their custom fit suits. The only discernible differences came from hair colour and style, jaw-line, shape of nose and colour of eyes but Torsha barely noticed. All that bothered her was that she could literally smell the cash as it emanated from their pores and she was forced to hide her glare of contempt.
'I'm in the Talooka House of Pleasure on Allemese's forth moon,' pondered Torsha with quiet jest, 'choosing which Lover Clone to hire for the night!'
 "First and foremost Officer Sa Madille," - began the suit on her right, heavy eyebrows, slightly bulbous nose, strong chin, the guy with the deep voice, Torsha noted.
 "I'm here as a representative of the Gashellian Authoritative Council," the suit continued, his eye contact never wavering, his demeanour assured. "To mediate a settlement that the Gashellians have raised along with other interested parties," he gestured to the other suits.
 "Ni Huhl technology development corporation!" Blurted suit on the left, thin face, beady eyes squeaky voice.
 "And the Supreme Upper states of Ffeladam!" Concluded middle suit, right on cue. 'Possibly the cutest of the trio' Torsha caught herself thinking, instantly driving the urge of attraction out of her mind.
 "Fact is Officer Sa Madille," continued the suit on her right, Torsha's head swivelling from pillar to post, "there are a lot of angry people who are desperate for answers!"
That was it! The conversation just stopped! All attention was fixed firmly on Torsha and her expectant defence.
'Two can play at this game,' thought Torsha wild a mild satisfaction. For her part, she simply fixed her gaze on the middle suit, figuring he was 'the best one to look at' and she just returned his stare with an icy calm. The suits for their part started to fidget and a growing unease began to settle.
 "Will you kindly give your version of what happened Torsha?" Came a voice from behind. She didn't have to look, Torsha could almost hear the disappointment in her chief's voice but she had hoped Virsham would have fought back just a little stronger than this.
'Things were very much out of control' Torsha surmised, 'definitely grim!'

The unorthodox de-briefing over with, Torsha had hoped to meet up with Pell, but her diminutive partner had been whisked away for her own de-briefing literally the second she had been released from the med-unit.
With nothing to do and no orders to follow, Torsha's meandering eventually took her back to her own work station cubicle. Able to ponder the recent events in relative peace, Torsha replayed the de-briefing in her mind, picking the memories to pieces in order to find solutions to questions she still didn't know.
The 'suits' had dismissed her the second she had finished her statement and it was obvious the full outcome was to be decided behind closed doors. The uncertainty of it all was unsettling and Torsha squirmed in her seat as her brain strove for a conclusion to it all.
 "How'd it go?" Came a voice from behind. Torsha turned with a start, her troubled mind wrenched out of its futile revelry.
 "Ohhhh, so so!" Blurted Torsha as she instantly recognised Nisha in the entranceway. She wasn't overly fond of Nisha, 'bit too soft' was the main complaint but the pair had worked together on many occasions and she atleast was honest and dependable, Torsha was forced to admit. But as Nisha swiftly entered the cubicle to take a seat, Torsha couldn't help but feel annoyance at the thought of gossiping with anyone. Especially Nisha!
 "They say they're going to come down hard on the ISF!" Declared Nisha, her eyes intent. This was news Torsha hadn't heard before and she was forced to take note of her comrade.
 "Who says?" Spat an incredulous Torsha.
 "Everyone!" Nisha replied as a matter of fact. "It's not just the Gashellians, there are others involved too!"
 "Yeah," droned Torsha, "I know! I was there remember!"
Either she didn't catch her faux pas or she was too unnerved to care but it looked to Torsha as if Nisha was searching for a mountain load of answers herself.
 "They say the ISSS Council is taking a stand too!" Nisha continued.
 "Well good!" Demanded Torsha, her brow furrowing with anger, "it would have been nice to have had their support in that fuckin' de-briefing room!"
 "Not WITH us," declared Nisha, "AGAINST us!"
 "What?" Torsha gaped.
 "They say there are some serious players in all of this! Powerful authorities!" Nisha's face began to twist in a combination of worry and confusion, "Just what the hell did you and Pell do out there?"
The dam of frustrated emotions broke and Torsha erupted from her seat, gripping a startled Nisha with a vice-like grip around the neck. With an effortless flowing motion Torsha pinned her concerned work colleague against the cubicle wall and refused to lessen her grip.
 "WE DEFENDED OURSELVES!" Torsha screamed, "Pell's only just come out of the fuckin' med unit for fucks sake!"
With considerable effort, Nisha lifted her legs high enough to wrap around Torsha's outstretched arm and shoulder, twisting as she went. The weight and momentum forced Torsha to relinquish her grip and the pair fell to the floor. Before she could react, Torsha found herself pinned to the ground as Nisha effectively sat on top of her. Thrusting her knee against her windpipe whilst she used her hands to push down hard against her head, using her full upper body weight as leverage.
Torsha gagged and tried to move but Nisha's decisive grip could not be broken.
 "I don't give a shit what either of you have been through," Nisha snarled through clenched teeth, "what I do care about is the fact that we're all about to lose our jobs! OUR FUCKIN' LIVES!"
Nisha leaned in close to Torsha's pain stricken face, "and you know as well as I do, what happens to ISF people who join the crowd!"
With that, Nisha stood and backed away, ever watchful for a revenge attack.
Slowly, her breathing laboured, her body shaking with fury, Nisha moved to exit the cubicle.
 "You just don't fuckin' get it do you Torsha?" And with that, she left.
Torsha couldn't move. She found herself coughing and spluttering on her own cubicle floor as she desperately managed a breath, but the worse pain was in her mind!
She understood clearly the threat about 'joining the crowd!' She was ISF just as much as Nisha was. Torsha knew what happened to you if you were decommissioned from the ISF. The universe was a bitter and spiteful place, chock a block with people just eager to get a shot back at the Special Law Branch that had put a stop to so many of its profitable and illegal schemes! And if you weren't a part of the ISF, you weren't one of the elite, you became just another face in the crowd. No longer a member of a team that supported its own, no longer able to rely on support in times of need. Alone in a crowd that was eager to taste blood!

Virsham Bellasha was an old hand at maintaining order and discipline amongst her squadron. The Inter Species Felony unit was the only thing she had known throughout her life, Enrolling as a trainee Officer at the tender age of fourteen, she had slowly, methodically risen through the ranks, achieving every goal she ever set for herself. Eventually securing the top slot of section Chief at thirty-two.
In Virsham's eyes her most prized asset was her mental and emotional strength, an absolute essential ingredient in the harsh and brutal universe of law enforcement.
She knew of the bitterness and resentment that many of her underlings had for her but as far as Virsham was concerned, it was just a necessary evil. A means of ensuring those working under her would be constantly on their toes. 'A trait that can only save lives' was Bellasha's belief.
And yet, Virsham had to steel herself against the impending onslaught that was about to literally break her office door down. The hammering against the portal had rhythmically increased in power and tempo for the last two minutes. She tried to mentally block the noise in a vain effort to avoid the inevitable confrontation but her patience was wearing thin and she pushed the admittance button on her desk in order to settle things once and for all.
 "Torsha, can't you get the gist that I don't have time for discussions?" Virsham began in earnest. She cast her gaze about her office, shaking her head with aggravation, not bothering to look at the person as they stormed into the room, she knew exactly who it was pounding on her door.
Virsham was however, quietly surprised when Torsha didn't explode in her usual customary fashion. The platinum blonde haired Officer simply made her way to the foot of Bellasha's desk, to finally position herself directly opposite her Section Chief, her back arched, leaning heavily on out-stretched arms. Her ample bosom, becoming the centre-point of Virsham vista. The office door quietly slid shut before Torsha spoke a word and Virsham was inwardly grateful for the discretion, intentional or otherwise.
 "Virsham," Torsha began, her voice quiet and concerned, "look at me!"
Bellasha lifted her gaze to meet the troubled Officers'. Virsham had known Torsha for more than ten repetitions and she had always considered her to be one of the strongest and competent members of her team. So it came as a shock to see the pain and confusion in her eyes.
 "What's going on?" Torsha continued simply, the hunger for answers written all over her face. "They're talking about putting the blame on the ISF!" Her arm made sweeping gestures, indicating beyond the doorway at the other squadron members, "and they all think I did something wrong, that I'm the cause of all of this!"
Tears began to well up and she angrily wiped her eyes dry with the back of her hand, desperate to continue a show of strength, but Torsha knew deep down that she was going through one of most harrowing experiences of her life. Matters were made worse by the fact that, it wasn't because of some dire situation in the middle of some forgotten battlefield, it wasn't the result of some crippling event out there in the crowd. Her very own people were abandoning her, leaving her to rot at the feet of some faceless corporate entity that was out to bleed her dry.
And that hurt! It hurt Torsha in a way she had never experienced before!
Virsham reached across her desk, tenderly taking Torsha's hands, hoping her sympathy would feed through the touch.
 "Torsha, no-one's blaming you!" Virsham assured as she got up from her seat and moved around her desk so that she could soothe the anxiety away with a warm embrace. The second Virsham's arm wrapped around her shoulder Torsha's emotional control broke.
 "Did you honestly think I would let them take my team away?" Virsham asked, her voice soft as she gently stroked the hair of her distraught officer. Torsha couldn't help herself, she bawled into her Superior Officer's chest.
 "Shhhhh!" Virsham quietly whispered as she led her sobbing colleague to the door of a side room annexe, Virsham's 'personal rest room'.

The portal slid aside with a quiet hiss and the pair slowly entered the Section Chief's secret domain.
 "You're the first person to come in here!" Virsham conceded, eager yet unsure of how to break Torsha's melancholy. For her part, Torsha didn't notice a thing as she continued to sob against Virsham's rapidly soaking breasts. She didn't notice the large domed ceiling or the wide expanse of deep undulating carpeting. She didn't even notice the soft and comforting settees as she was guided to finally sit down. She simply noted how wonderful it was to have something so warm and soft to rest upon, especially when you needed it most. The rhythmic beat of Virsham's heart added an even greater comforting spell to the situation and the pain in Torsha's own heart started to slowly evaporate. With time the sobs subsided and the platinum blonde officer began to get a stranglehold of her emotions. Gentle fingers slowly lifted her chin and Torsha found herself gazing into the warm hazel pupils of her Commanding Officer's eyes. Virsham offered her the corner of one of the opulent cushions.
 "Dry your eyes," she quickly added, "and blow your nose, you're dribbling everywhere!" Torsha gave a quick giggle as the pair noticed the glistening orbs of Virsham's chest and the reason for her sodden appearance became obvious. Torsha quickly wiped her eyes dry with the gloriously soft cushion fabric and truly began to settle down.
 "The fact is", Virsham began, "I know and the other commanding sections of the ISF know that you and Pell simply defended yourselves against an aggressive act". The touch of her fingertips was mesmerising as they reassuringly brushed against the tips of Torsha's ears, caressing the tension out of every fibre of her hair. A warm glow began to settle within the blonde officer and she found herself literally drowning into Virsham's eyes. She almost didn't hear a word as her heart began to rise in tempo but the soothing tone of her Commanding Officer's voice subtly added to the delight of the spectacle.
 "…But you should know by now, we're not going to leave our officers in the lurch", Bellasha continued, unaware of the lustful glint in Torsha's expression. "Everybody knows the Gellashian's were up to no good but they're hardly likely to let Joe Public know that, especially after they lost crew and vehicles too! I mean", Virsham added with a subtle ironic smile, "you know how much and how long it takes to make one of those surface skimmers!"
Torsha suddenly felt small and silly and she could no longer meet Virsham's gaze. Feeling her cheeks blush with embarrassment, she looked towards her chief's tear-streaked cleavage, she began to absent-mindedly sponge dry them with the cushion.
 "I know, I know, I'm being stupid!"
 "Hey!" Virsham demanded, trying to keep her voice steady whilst her breasts virtually vibrated under Torsha's diligent touch "atleast you're showing you care what the others think! I always had the impression you couldn't give a toss about them!"
Torsha looked up with burning eyes and for a second Virsham panicked, believing she had said just a little too much. She was totally unprepared for the kiss when it came, firm and inviting, right on the lips. Bellasha's head recoiled ever so slightly more out of shock than anything else but Torsha had other ideas. She leaned forward again to plant an even bigger, deeper kiss whilst her hands threw the cushion away allowing her full access to Virsham's chest. Virsham had to use considerable force to push the blonde away, their lips parting with a loud smacking noise.
 "What are you doing?" She quietly demanded.
 "I'm letting you know how I feel!" Torsha simply answered.
 "I don't think this is the time or the place for that!"
 "When then?" Torsha queried with expectant eyes.
 "I…I…"
Torsha pressed home another kiss, long and passionate, again the forceful push back.
 "I am your Commanding Officer!" Spat Virsham with a cold yet incredulous gape.
 "And I've wanted to do this for some time!" Replied Torsha as she coerced her stunned superior backward to lay flat along the settee by pushing subtly ever forward with her own body.
 "Torsha, I want you to stop!" Virsham mumbled, unsure as how to proceed whilst secretly loving every minute of it.
 "Stop what?" Torsha mumbled back as she began to devour her superior's neck with large tender bites whilst simultaneously working her hands downwards towards Virsham's inner thigh.
Fingertips touched and the panic climaxed to a dizzying height. Finally forced to use every ounce of strength Virsham shoved the lustful blonde backward off her trembling body and on to the floor. As Torsha looked up with hurt and astonishment, Bellasha stood with purpose and dignity, despite the fact her voice still trembled.
 "Torsha, get out! Now!"
Slowly, the platinum blonde officer made her way to leave.
 "I'm sorry!"
 "Just get out!"
When the door finally slid shut upon Torsha's exit, Virsham sat down at her office desk and let out a deep sigh of relief. 'The duties of command were simple and not open for debate,' reminded Bellasha to herself! 'There has to be discipline and order!' Yes that was it, 'discipline and order!' And yet another thought crept into her subconscious, a dark and relatively unheard of aspect of her mind went to work and one thing get peaking her thoughts more than anything else. She tried to block it, she tried to think of other more mundane things but it didn't work. No matter what she did, she could not forget Torsha's touch as her fingers delved deep between her inner thigh!

End of Chapter 4