Lost Time (Why Are You Here?) Part ll

Posted on Sat 31st Aug, 2019 @ 9:09pm by Lieutenant Commander Dallas Briggs & Commander Paul Graves PsyD & Lieutenant Commander Kiara Lena

1,394 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: A Diplomatic Affair
Location: Unspecified location possibly In Federation Space
Timeline: Back Story

OLD:

"This is ridiculous," Lokhe snapped. He stalked toward the Obsidian Order agent, seized her by the back of her uniform, and jerked her backward. "If you don't know how to conduct an interrogation properly, get out, so I can do it!"

It was the wrong thing to say. Tajia Penra twisted in Duvas' grasp only long enough to deliver a roundhouse punch under his jaw that snapped his head backward, and then she returned her attention to the human and continued pummeling.


NEW:

Tajia stopped for a moment, her fist bloody and her hair now in disarray. She began to catch her breath as she stepped away. "Fix his face." She said to the Med Tech. Tajia began to wipe the sweat from her face and the Tech began to heal Dallas' face.

Dallas was near unconsciousness from all the beating his sustained to his face, but was aware of what was going on. As the tech worked on him he began to slip the restraint that held his right arm. Dallas' arm became free and he grabbed the tech by the collar and threw him against the wall right behind him, knocking the Tech out.

Tajia turned at the commotion and lunged at Dallas as he tried to free his other arm. She hit him in the face with her forearm and elbow, halting his actions. She looked down at the floor to where Duvas' lay motionless and kicked him, "Get up and help me string this animal up so we can continue with what we need to do."

From a state of paralysis, Lokhe stared up at the ceiling and gingerly moved his arm. What was that odd thing moving before his eyes? Abruptly, he realized it was his own fingers, though they felt oddly detached from the rest of him. If he could move his hand, however, he could move the rest of his body, because he could still feel everything down to his toes. Lokhe carefully rolled to one side and staggered to his feet. At least he could stand now, and his skull no longer vibrated. He glared at Penra. "Who the hell trained you?" He had never seen such blinding incompetence in his life, certainly never from someone in the Obsidian Order; they were supposed to be the best of the best. This wasn't an interrogation; it was a beat-down session--a waste of his time. Even worse, he had to obey her. He didn't, however, have to like it.

Tajia glared at the other Cardassian, "You may have your ways of doing things, but I have mine. If you don't like the way I do things, then leave!" She pointed to the door just in case he forgot where it was.

"Don't tempt me," Lokhe told her with a narrow-eyed look. He wrestled his temper under control as he walked straight to the nearest waste bin and retched into it. Then he took a deep breath, let it out, and returned to the prisoner, where he assisted Penra with moving the unusually tall Human to where she wanted him, even though it was far too soon to be this violent with him.

It was poor form to argue in front of a captive unless the argument was a deception--this wasn't, at least on his end. If he wanted to consider himself a professional, he'd best act like one. Lokhe assured himself that the Starfleet officer's restraints were secure but not dangerously tight; he didn't want to cut off circulation but also didn't want the man getting free of his cuffs again.

The Cardassians strung Dallas up like a side of beef. He hung from his wrists with only his toes touching the ground. "I'm going to get some refreshments, please continue with the interrogation," Tajia said.

Tajia left the room to get something to drink and left Lokhe to continue the interrogation.

Lokhe raised an eyebrow behind Penra's back as she left the room. Her departure and sudden calm indicated to him that she was likely not as incompetent as he had believed, and perhaps he was the one being played--or used--as part of her technique. You talked the talk, fool; now walk the walk. Use the set-up she gave you, Lokhe told himself.

He moved to stand in front of the Human and studied him for a few moments. The exhausted Human was tall and powerfully built, with hardly a shred of spare flesh on him. "She'll return sooner rather than later, Lt. Briggs. While we have a short time to talk like reasonable people, i suggest we take it. What are you doing in Cardassian space?"

Dallas looked down slightly at the Cardassian, "Its as I told you, my shuttle made a course change to avoid an ion storm, but I did not cross into Cardassian space."

Dallas was thinking of how could he escape. These Cardassians were hardcore and would never let him go. He had to do something to get out of here. In a flash, he raised his legs up and wrapped them around the Cardassian's neck and began to squeeze. He was able to get enough weight off of his hands that he lifted himself off of the overhead hook. He quickly flipped down his torso and used his legs to flip the Cardassian to the floor. He pounced on the humanoid and elbowed him in the face.

Dallas grabbed the remote from the unconscious being and unlocked his hands. He ran to the door and tried to open it, but was met by the female Cardassian. She had her weapon leveled right at him and fired. The overwhelming energy pulse felt as if it would sear his chest, he thought he would die, but he fell to the ground and passed out. The last thing he remembered was how painful the energy was.

==Later==

Trellin washed his hands, careful to remove all traces of the human. Tajia was crude and violent, but her methods did soften up the prisoners. Made them more malleable, more susceptible to drugs. This one was a harder case than most. But in the end, they got the information they wanted. After all that work, he'd been telling the truth. His story never changed. He was just a pilot who diverted off-course to avoid an ion storm. Pity.

It wasn't worth the time it took to put him back together. But if they didn't, it would bring more scrutiny than they could afford. There would be no trace of physical injury, no sign he'd been detoured, beaten, and interrogated. Less chance of him asking questions.

From what he'd been told, computer experts had already altered the logs on the shuttle. And now Trellin had done his job. The human was all back together--although he would probably have a headache for a few days. That couldn't be helped. But headaches were such common occurrences that he shouldn't think anything amiss.

Even the drugs had been purged from the patient's system. Trellin was nothing if not thorough. His hands clean, he picked up his medical scanned and checked the patient one last time. Good. Everything read normal. Absolutely normal. He pressed a button on his communicator. "Kavoris here. He's ready to transport."

"Very good. We'll transport him to his shuttle as soon as it's in space."

The Cardassian sighed. They knew his timetable. Why hadn't they bothered to launch the shuttle before now? Incompetence. But then, he wasn't in charge. He glanced at the man, once again dressed as Starfleet's finest. That thought made him chuckle. Not so fine today. He smiled. But no one would be the wiser.

He set about cleaning the room, replacing supplies, putting everything back in its place. He liked order. Doctors should always be orderly. Neat. Clean. He just finished when the transporter engaged, beaming Briggs to his shuttle. Trellin smiled. Yes. A job well done.

Tajia had kept an eye on things until the end. She was completely satisfied that the Starfleet Officer had just stumbled upon their secret base by mistake and that they were completely safe there. Soon Dallas Briggs would be back aboard his ship without any memory of the interrogation. In the near future, they would start on a brainwashing and condition technique, but that's another story.

 

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