“You think I’m going to tell you a damned thing, you piece of shit Starfleet?” The snarling voice belonged to the snarling mouth of Sarge, a former operative in the Orion Syndicate and, at last report, in the employ of Tougun and his network. He was strapped to a bio bed and under the watchful yet annoyed eyes of Lieutenant Oswald Mika. He had been found unconscious on the shuttle and returned to the Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Captain Peter Crawford stood at the bedside, unbothered by the empty threats from the Orion. “I think you suspect or have some idea what happened to the network as a whole. As for Tougun, you were his second. You might know where he was headed or if he’s gone silent.” He watched Sarge’s eyes as they widened briefly and then returned to glaring at anything that moved.

Another snarl, “I won’t tell you shit, no matter what this dumbass doctor puts in me.”

Crawford watched Mika’s eyebrows raise slowly as the doctor replied in his soft, lilted voice, “You have me mistaken for someone in the darker arts of medicine, sir.” Nonplussed, the man returned to his work.

Peter frowned at the patient, asking, “Look, you can fight, spit, and swear at us all you want, but it doesn’t change what happened to the station or you. The Vaadwaur were busy spreading their supremacy as fast and as hard as they could. I’m not here to arrest you. I’m here to figure out where things stand and the status of your boss.”

Sarge’s face relaxed just enough to give Crawford a second look. His eyes searched every inch of the man’s Starfleet uniform. “Are you going to arrest Tougun?”

The question hung in the air, and Peter shrugged. “Truthfully, I don’t know. Plenty of charges have been attributed to him. I’m fairly certain JAG, along with plenty of other alien law enforcement, would like to get hold of him.”

Sarge’s eyes remained locked onto Crawford. “And you, Captain Crawford?”

The silence fell around them as Peter contemplated the answer. Sarge was a weasel and as bad as they came. Was he contemplating making a deal with this Orion? Peter replied, “The rimward is big, and we’ve got a lot of ground to cover. Colonies, trade ports, and ships that we haven’t had contact with. There’s a lot of work and people who need our help.” He looked around sickbay, “Tougun is low on my list of priorities.” Peter searched Sarge’s face as he fell silent. He still had a duty. “If I run into him, I’m duty-bound to attempt an arrest and return him to Montana Station to stand trial and answer an unending pile of extradition requests.”

The Orion didn’t reply right away. He shifted to stare at the ceiling above as his eyes searched the surface. The quiet ambience of the sickbay filled the silence until Sarge returned to the conversation, “You just want to know if he’s alive.”

Peter chuckled darkly, “Unofficially, yes. Alive, we know what to expect and who to ask. Dead…we’ve got a power vacuum that’ll send the Network in the rimward spinning in the worst way. You don’t strike me as the upper management type.”

Sarge frowned at the jab and then let a quiet smile cross his cragged lips. “I rather enjoy my middle management. Plenty of murder and mayhem in the middle.” He considered the ceiling further before replying, “He is alive and rebuilding. Where he is, that is not known to most of us.”

Crawford had winced at the ‘murder and mayhem’ line. Sarge may have been strapped tightly to the biobed, but he did not doubt that, given the chance, Sarge would take his brand of chaos into the sickbay and beyond. “You’ll be released pending Doctor Mika having cleared you.”

“You’re not arresting me, Captain Crawford?” A look of confusion filled Sarge’s face.

Peter smiled wryly, “We’re still running your background check, fingerprint data, blood samples, photo…I said released. I didn’t say back to your shuttle. JAG may not get Tougun this round, but they are certainly interested in you, Sarge.”

The Orion narrowed his eyes at Crawford, “Bastard. Should have blown myself up.”

Peter nodded to Lieutenant Mika, saying, “Assign two security guards to Mr. Sarge. I’ll notify the brig to get a room ready.” He walked away, hearing Sarge swearing at him, Mika, Starfleet, the Federation, and everybody else in the universe.