“The humans on the continent of this leader are rather active,” the intelligence officer says as he calmly observes the human pacing side to side in the containment unit. They are reminded briefly of the behavior of captive predators back home, a thought which is quickly dismissed.

“I fail to see how a bunch of tribal primitives massing their males outside their population centers generates cause for concern,” the lieutenant-captain responds, having already lost interest in the science department’s newest research project. “Their most advanced travel technology right now can leave the ground for minutes, at best.”

“Officer Xarlnab wouldn’t be troubling us if he hadn’t considered something, and given the hostility our current specimen has kept up for the last couple weeks, we should hear him out.” The captain’s calm respect for his officers was why he was considered such a capable commander, and why the mission to assess sentience and risk had been assigned to him in the first place. The lieutenant-captain wiggles his arms in deference.

“Well, and this is a long shot, but the continent we obtained our tribal leader from isn’t the only place that has turned into a hive of activity. The more developed continent on the same side of the equator has seen an explosion of activity in a metalworks that appears to be dedicated to the manufacture of weapons, marked ‘Gussstahlfabrik’ in one of the local languages. I believe they may be attempting to manufacture a combustion projectile weapon capable of reaching us, which, as absurd as it may sound, calculations of their capabilities suggest may be possible.” Officer Xarlnab stands stock still, equally nervous and dutiful.

Captain Nargrm flutters his electrosensors thoughtfully, giving his head the illusion of slowly moving side to side. He approaches the window of the containment unit, where the human has stopped pacing and is now staring back out the window, shoulders taught and square, legs in a stable shoulder width position. “Do we know if all tribes respond to the loss of a leader with such activity? Are we sure this movement is related, and if such is it being done with viole-“ his sentence cuts off as a fist explodes through the polymer window and seizes a forward arm of the captain. Before either officer or lieutenant-captain can react, the screaming cuts out. The door to the cell shatters in the same explosive manner, and the earth leader steps through, now armed with a long bone ripped from the body of the captain.

“I don’t believe I’ve had a chance to introduce myself,” Theodore Roosevelt says through a savage looking grin. “Where I come from,” he growls as he lifts the bone to shoulder height and launches into a sprint, “I’m called the Big Stick!”