Second Round

Posted on Wed Aug 28th, 2024 @ 8:27am by Captain Tristan Faust & Ensign Peter Novak & Lieutenant Shinobu Miyake & Arianna D'Tal

0 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Mission 5: The Price of Paradise
Location: Security Section
Timeline: M5 MD09 (2268.08.1) 1300-1330

While the ship's surgeons fought to save Ensign Dienstag's life, Captain Faust and Lt. Miyake shifted their attention to the Orion pirate they had captured. Commander Hanous wanted to lay into the pirate personally, but the Captain wanted the pirate alive... At least long enough to spill his guts... Then frankly the Captain didn't care if his Orion Engineer ripped the pirate open to examine the guts that were left.

They were in one of the interrogation rooms. It was completely undecorated save for the dour metal table and chairs. The pirate was restrained in one of them, Ensign Novak was standing in front him, leaning on the one way mirror, arms crossed. The burly young ensign was sporting a bruise to his tanned cheek, but otherwise was uninjured from his scuffle with the pirate now sitting before him.

"Did I hurt your face, pretty boy?" The pirate said as he eyed the Human standing there staring at him. Feeling bored just tied to a chair made him decide to have some fun. "Mess up your hair, maybe? That's nothing compared to what I did to your friend. Someone forgot to look up."

"You'll get what's coming to you, pirate," Peter responded, his massive arms still crossed, "Remember, piracy is still punishable by death in the Federation... And it's at the Captain's discretion. So you better show him more respect than you are showing me..."

"Do I look like I really care?" The pirate asked, giving him a hearty laugh. "You'd just be doing me a favor, pretty boy. Go ahead! Put me outta my misery!"

"Oh there will be plenty of that," Peter responded, "Maybe if you plead very nicely the Captain will let you live out your days in a cushy Federation penal colony."

"You Fleeters and your cushy little prisons." The pirate said, giving him a scoff. "Always so focused on comfort, and everything looking so pretty... Pathetic!"

Peter rolled his eyes and then opened his mouth, before he could say anything the door opened. Captain Faust and Lt. Miyake walked in. "Stand down Mr. Novak," the Captain said. He looked at the pirate, "I am Captain Faust, commander of the Midway... I believe you already are acquainted with Lt. Miyake... Lieutenant, if you would care to say hello..."

"The pleasure would be all mine, Captain," Lieutenant Miyake replied as she delivered a back-handed smack to the Orion's face.

The back slap turned the pirate's head. After only a moment, he spit out a small bit of blood. "Does it make you feel better missy?" He asked casually. "Beating on someone tied to a chair? I like it rough."

"Well, all the more to you, then!" Lieutenant Miyake retaliated as she delivered another smack.

"Now before I let my security staff take their gloves off..." Tristan said before joining Peter by the one way mirror, "Why was the shipment of Xenoderm attacked? And where is the freighter Polaris and its escort?" His voice was calmed and collected although it was clear he was not enthused.

"Why not take it? We like pretty things, and this is a pretty thing that does a pretty thing." The pirate scoffed. "Who cares where it went. I promise it won't go to waste."

"We want it back," Tristan responded, "And we are not asking... Tell me, how much of your operation can survive under a full on assault from a Federation starship... Or maybe a fleet of starships... Now we don't need to go down that route... We don't need to get involved with things we don't need to."

"As you Humans like to say... You don't have the balls." The pirate gave him a smirk, shifting only slightly in his chair, just waiting for someone to strike him. "Don't forget what happened the last time you went up against the Orions, Captain."

"Hmm, yeah I seem to recall freeing your slaves and destroying your trading post, with everything and everyone on it," Tristan responded, "Maybe it's time you remind him..." He turned to look at Shinobu.

Nodding, Shinobu moved over to grab the Orion by the shirt collar.

"You'll find we don't need balls to get the information we're looking for," she affirmed before giving him a hard shove, causing him to topple backwards and slam his head against the cold, steel deck.

"And I'm just getting started, buddy," she warned as she returned the Orion to an upright position. "Next time you refuse to cooperate, the back of your head's going to be gushing like a watermelon, so if I were you, I'd choose my next words veeery carefully."

After getting his senses about him again, the pirate eyed Shinobu. "I'd think twice about crossing paths with Mystress D'Tal again." He said, giving her a smirk similar to the one he'd given the Captain. "After all the damage you've done to our operation, I just know she'd love to break that spirit of yours."

"Oh, really?" Shinobu replied. "And this is apparently coming from an organization with a pension for sticking its nose where it doesn't belong..."

Tristan just sighed and put his fingers to his forehead, "Of course she is behind this," he muttered before staring at the Orion "Revenge is a dish best served cold, eh? Except bloodworms boil your inners... Maybe we should ask the science lab to cook some up and let them feed on you..."

"That girl you took was her favorite personal slave!" The pirate said in retort. His expression turning mean again. "I should be the least of your worries, Starfleet!"

"That girl was our Executive Officer, dirtbag," Shinobu was quick to point out. "Which, mind you, didn't belong to her in the first place."

"Not that one..." The pirate said, then turned to look at Tristan. "Does a little trade for her first officer ring a bell, Captain Faust? Maybe you're losing your memory in your old age."

"If you are referring to the girl Jenny, she is being deprogrammed by Starfleet medical on Earth while we track down what remains of her family," Tristan responded, "How about you, do you have any family you wish to return to?"

"She was born into that life, and has been with D'Tal for nearly all of it." The pirate responded, not bothering to even acknowledge his question as he continued. "See... You took something of her's, and so she took something of yours. If you want it back, you're just going to have to go fetch it yourself."

"We certainly will fetch it and scortch the space on our way to it," Tristan responded, "It's funny, I thought you pirates were interested in profit, not self destruction..."

"You should know by now that self destruction is not our way, Human." The pirate replied, giving him a smirk. "Profit is her goal, but more importantly, she wants you... Maybe I should tell you where she is, so she can have what she wants... or would you rather kill me now?"

"Knowing your Captain, she wants us to come to her," Tristan responded as stepped closer and leaned onto the table, "So if you want to spare yourself some... Discomfort... And some time... You may as well tell us."

The pirate leaned forward towards Tristan, getting his face as close to his as he could, then in the calmest of tones he said. "Say... 'please.'"

"Lieutenant... Say please for me," Tristan responded before leaning back.

Shinobu nodded before grabbing the chair by its legs and flipping it over, this time with much more force than she had previously. The Orion's head slammed against the deck with a sickening "crack," and when Shinobu moved to lift him back up, there was blood pouring profusely from a wound in the back of his skull

"My, that's a nasty-looking gash you got there," she quipped. "It'd be a real shame if you were to bleed out...."

"You hit like a girl." The pirate said after a few seconds. At this point, he seemed a little off, though his mind was still intact.

"Ah, so you think you're a comedian now?" Shinobu retorted as she leaned over and pinched his cheek. "Must be one too many WELL-DESERVED KNOCKS TO THE HEAD!"

"If you kill me now, you get nothing." The pirate said next. His demeanor was casual as he spoke. "Unless of course you want her to sell it to the highest bidder."

"I mean, we could just cut off something non-essential... A finger... A toe..." Tristan responded with a chuckle, "Or something more personal... None of which you need to tell me what I want."

"You make demands, and yet you can't even do me the courtesy of using a simple word like 'please'."The pirate said, giving Tristan another smirk, despite his own dire circumstances. "I guess Humans have no manners after all."

"No manners for terrorists," Tristan responded with an annoyed look on his face, "So are you going to lay it out, or what?"

"You must think I'm stupid, Captain." The pirate replied, this time with a dead serious look. "There's no incentive to betray my Captain. You're either going to kill me, or send me to one of your pretty prisons to rot."

"Oh, no, we have better places for you, pal," Shinobu replied. "You wouldn't learn your lesson if we just sent you to prison- nah, 5 years of hard reconditioning in a sketchy rehabilitative center will put you in your place. Also, how's that head wound of yours feeling?"

"A little tingly, if you really want to know, Missy." Came the pirate's casual reply. As he spoke now, his words began to slur; the blood loss quickly taking away his ability to function. "If you don't patch it up, I'll fall asleep and be dead in minutes... Not that I care. You'd just be doing me a big fat favor."

The Captain visibly annoyed, walked over to Shinobu. "This is going nowhere," he commented in a low voice, "Get a medic down here with a stimulant and truth serum..." He walked back over to the table. "Well we can't be having that, while we wait for the medics, I'll give something to take your mind off of it." He reached down, grabbed the Orion's pinky finger and snapped it like a twig. "Sorry the break isn't clean, I'm a bit out of practice," he commented with a chuckle as he walked around the table to face the pirate once more.

The pirate suddenly became wide awake as the pain hit. "Ah! Fuck!" he yelled out as his face contorted in pain for a moment. "You're only delaying the inevitable." He said, part of him hoping he'd be dead before the medics arrived. "Soon I'll be dead, and you'll get nothing!"

To Be Continued...

 

RSS Feed