Shore Leave: The Warehouse

Endra removes her hand from Alex' skin. She takes a deep breath and nods without saying a word.
Hector looks satisfied as he turns to Cass. "It's your turn now. You see it's completely harmless."

Endra moves on the bed, sitting between Alex and Cass now and puts her fingers on Cass' face and neck, searching the right spots with her fingertips. Cass feels that same dull pain rise in her head as Alex did.
Once Endra gives the okay, Hector asks Cass the exact same questions he asked Alex, word for word.

Endra nods and a relieved smile appears for just a second in Hector's face before it disappears again and he asks Cass: "I'm sorry but I have to ask for clarification. Why are you on this planet?"

"You did not. You said you are here because the universe hates you which could be an evasive answer to hide a different motivation. Just answer the question and we can move on."

With another nod, Endra removes her hand from Cass' face. The headache almost fully disappears but it leaves a light but noticeable uncomfortable pulsing as well as a slightly uncomfortable itch in the scars she was touching behind.
"As much as I appreciate your colorful way of speaking, Shawna, I'm afraid Endra needs clear answers if she wants to determine whether you're telling the truth or not. It's easier to sneak in a lie in a quick aside mention than in a clear and precise sentence." He turns to Endra. "Thank you. Release their cuffs please. I believe they have proven themselves and we should start showing them that we are not their enemies."
Endra pulls two datachips from her pocket and uses them to unlock first Cass' cuffs and then Alex'. "No, I hope you two stick around", she says, slapping her hand on Alex' back as she gets up to go back to the table. "You're much more fun to be around than most a' these people."

"I left myself a killswitch in your brain, love. If you don't do whatever we tell you, I'll set it off", Endra replies with a straight face but a hint of amusement in her voice. She waits a second before clarifying: "It'll wear off within the hour. Your brain is just not used to the sensation. I can't maintain any mental link without physical contact."

Hector looks both of you in the eyes for a few seconds, first Cass then Alex, before he starts speaking: "I am Commander Hector Andoras, spacefleet special forces. My team and I are here on direct orders from Admiral Tanner. There is a conspiracy involving high ranking admirals in spacefleet command that have allowed this planet to be infiltrated by Naplican agents. Planet security is compromised and since unknown members of command are involved in this conspiracy, no formal investigation into these matters can take place without risk of alerting the traitors within the ranks of the admirals. By staging terrorist attacks and forcing planet security to call for outside help themselves, we are allowing Admiral Tanner to launch an investigation without prematurely showing his hand." He pauses, gauging Cass' and Alex' reaction to his explanation. "Questions?"

"Stolen command codes are a serious security risk that would have to be reported and investigated immediately. I have no need for your command codes, I probably have a higher security clearing than you, actually", Hector explains. "We were not planning on taking any of you hostage but we needed to do something that would force planet security to take action."