The Price To Pay For Information

Posted on Sat Jan 22nd, 2022 @ 10:46am by

1,063 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Not All Changes Are Welcome.
Location: Unknown, Captive ship.

Reagan's eyes widened as the cart of blood-stained tools was rolled out. Mentally, she knew this has been coming, but so soon in the interrogation?

"Well I guess I know the answer to my first question then," she said, rolling her eyes slightly. "Why should I tell you anything when you won't even answer my question as to which ship you want information on? It's clear that all you really want to do is to torture me. You don't actually want information." Perhaps provoking the beast wasn't the best move, but it was the only opening RJ could see in the moment.

"Because it was a test." The man spoke. "I know of three vessels, two of the same size and design as the one I disabled and the much larger vessel. So you know of the one I speak of." The silence was broken by cries of pain from another room. It seemed that someone was the victim of another guards attention. "Believe me, you are not the first person to play bland with me, giving me general answers that are vague and non descript."

A monitor switched on from the opposing wall, it displayed a picture of the Dreadnought though its resolution was not perfect, it was obvious as to which ship it was. "This one, just so that you are sure as to which I am talking about." He spoke as he toyed with a blade in his hands. "Let's start with a name shall we?"

She sighed, having hoped that her tactics would work better. Yet, clearly, her opponent still held the upper hand and wasn't willing to play the games she wanted to. "The Dreadnought, but you already knew that. It's painted on the side."

"Actually no, unfortunately the resolution was the best we could get at extreme range, but thank you for the information." As minor as it was, there was need for more. "Now, I'd like to know about this Dreadnought. She is obviously a large vessel, I've seen a few Federation classes in my time, never something like that." Perhaps a hint of a past, Ex Starfleet?

"You see, the thing is. Your arrival complicates matters, personally I'd rather just see you leave and while I do not have the ability to take on such a vessel, there are other targets." Reputation already revealed that the man was capable of much, including outright murder. "First point of attack, know your enemy."

He sat himself in a chair and leant back. "You see, my associates and I, we have an arrangement and Starfleet's presence complicates our affairs. Personally I'd just like to see the aft side of that and watch it go on its merry way but I don't see that happening, not without some encouragement." He gave but a brief pause as he glared upon his restrained captive. "The Captain, what is his name? Tell me about him? What's he like?"

"Captain Ra Morrisaati, but you knew that already. Anyone can look up a public record and see it. Honestly, I don't know anything about the man. I'm afraid you pulled the wrong engineer. I haven't been on the Dreadnought long at all so I don't know much about anyone." RJ shrugged. He still hadn't asked for anything that wasn't available from long range sensors or a public database. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as she thought, or perhaps he was just getting warmed up.

"A public record, yes." He remarked. "Well you see, in my line of work it serves me well not to do too much snooping. Access traced, connections logged and tracked and wouldn't do me well to have the curious looking around for me. Where as I have you here with me now and I gleam all this and I risk nothing."

A series of cries could be heard, male and from the sounds of it, excruciatingly painful. "One of my associates, extracting information from one of your officers." A knock on the door came and after a brief exchange the man returned to RJ. "You're going back to your cell, perhaps then it will sink in how far I'm prepared to go."

Two large men came in and uncomfortably extracted RJ from her restraints and hauled her back to the cell. She was not alone however, the same security officer as before was present though laying on his side, thrown to the floor by the guards that put him there. The major difference being, the officer had both hands removed, the stumps blackened from being tortuously cauterized. It was a stark message of the depths of depravity the captors would go to.

The smell of burnt skin instantly made her nauseous as RJ was thrown back into her cell. It took everything she had to not expel what was left in her stomach upon the site of her cell mate's missing hands. 'Perhaps then it will sink in how far I'm prepared to go." The words seered into her mind as she looked at Elliston.

This sick asshole was willing to remove his hands for some tidbits of information, she thought. What did that mean for her? Would she suffer the same fate if she didn't cooperate? RJ shook her head as to sift the thoughts from her brain as Elliston let out a small cry.

"Hey," RJ did her best to smile as she approached him. What she wouldn't give for Gavin to be here now, but he wasn't. All she could do was try to be there for Elliston or maybe take his mind off it, which probably wasn't even possible with an injury like this. Her head rambled through thoughts and tried to come up with the right thing to say.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through this. We'll make it out of here, I promise." RJ made the agreement, though she wasn't sure they would actually make it out alive. Grim pictures of what lay ahead filled her thoughts as she sat and comforted the security officer. Would she still be able to perform in engineering with prosthetic hands if he cut them off? What else would that crazy son of a bitch do to her? Though RJ was terrified of what might happen, she stayed determined to keeping her ship safe, but how long would she be able to hold?

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