by K. L. Bone
It was the tradition of the Setian Empire to hold the best or highest ranking of our enemies in captivity so they could see the fall of their people and that their people could see them in our power. The highest of these leaders were often shown off as war prizes. Then, after a time, they were either executed in an honorable Setian fashion or given to high Setian leaders as slaves. When the war was over, it would be up to me to decide their fate.
Chapter XXIII
I did not have to wait long. After the capture of Darin, Lord Kasar was granted permission to send in our forces in full, public style. Militaries from all over the world mobilized their forces in a pitiful attempt to fight back. Their efforts were, of course, wasted as their weapons had no effect on our shielded ships. With a force of twenty-thousand, Setian forces destroyed the military power of Earth and, since a third of the world’s forces were under our command anyway, the few left were easily taken care of. The American President, who had been infested a little over two years before, assured people to stay in their homes and wait for instructions from the nice military men who would eventually come to collect them. It took only a few weeks to have the entire planet under Setian control.
Once the majority of the world’s air and sea forces had been destroyed, Lord Kasar issued orders to begin building pools on the surface of the planet. While this construction was going on, he also gave orders for most of his troops to land. Once on the ground the men, dressed in military clothes, joined the current troops already under our control. They went from house to house, gathering the civilian population. After assuring their charges they were being led to safety, Lord Kasar’s troops led their captives to underground caves, and right into the Setian pool complexes. Once there, the prisoners were dragged over to a curtained off area on the left side of the pool. Held between several guards, they were forced onto a table and held down. The scan only took three seconds, but when it was over, the Setians knew if or if not the person in questions was suitable for infestation. Anyone with HIV, brain tumors, or mental illness were executed. Cures could be found, but time was of the essence and it would take at least a few weeks in order to find those cures. Besides, experience had taught us that the best way to get rid of a disease was to eradicate it completely. Those who passed the medical scan were dragged to the pool and infested.
Three weeks after the completion of the invasion, Lord Kasar called to give a formal report. Over ninety percent of the planet’s inhabitants were under our control.
Lord Kasar requested the honor of my presence before he destroyed the final members of the resistance. Returning to Earth from the council chambers on Setianta, I learned that particular members of the rebellion had worked very closely with the Lorids, the only major unassimilated species left on our side of the galaxy. I had contacts hidden among their ranks and had recently been informed that the leaders of the Earth rebellion might know some very critical information about the Lorid home defenses. If it proved as important as I believed it to be, I had every intention of breaking Darin myself.
As I approached the planet my first order of business was to place an official call to Lukare fifteen. His holographic image appeared before me in his human form. He bowed and said, “My Councilor Dehartra.”
“Rise,” I told him. He obeyed. “Lukare fifteen, I would like to thank you for the information you sent concerning the location of the rebel leaders. You took a great risk which proved successful. For your contribution in this capture, I hereby award you with the title of Harars five and offer you a commission under any Lord of your choosing.”
“My…my Councilor,” he stumbled. “This is an honor that I…” he seemed to shake himself. “Thank you, Councilor.”
“What commission do you choose?”
“I would choose to serve at the Lorid front, to help in preparations for the battle to come.”
I nodded my head, “It will be done. Congratulations, Harars five.”
When I arrived at Setian Colony 428 I was escorted down to the pool area which had recently been built above ground. Lord Kasar greeted me with a smile that was pure triumph. “Congratulations, Lord Kasar,” I said, my smile matching his own. “What a glorious day for the Empire.” I walked towards him and he placed his hand on my left cheek, raising my gaze to his. He kissed me softly and then pulled back. I saw my soul in his eyes; the same resolve and determination we shared so perfectly between us.
“For you, I would do far more.”
“And you shall. It is good to see you, especially on such a joyous occasion. However, I believe we have some business to attend to.”
“As you wish, Councilor.”
As we walked I took some time to look upon the planet that had been my home so long ago. How ignorant I had been back then. As I looked about me, I did not recognize what I remembered so well. The Setian pool looked unnatural in the center of what was once a shopping complex of some sort.
I was escorted to the center of the pool. To the side were a series of cages containing the prisoners. There were approximately thirty cages containing about twenty people each. Darin and his top three commanders had been placed in the cage closest to the pool, as Lord Kasar did love to show off his prizes. Most of those who had once followed him were in the surrounding cages, separated from the masses for this express purpose.
Darin was thinner than the last time I saw him, but physically unharmed. He was just over six feet and as I looked into his deep brown eyes I saw an unmistakable intelligence that instantly told me why he had been the chosen leader. He had a dignity that only a leader carries and even chained in a cage, he could be mistaken for no one else. He was only in his mid-twenties but gazing into his tired eyes, one would think he was more than twice his age. It brought me to the sad realization that this young man, like myself, had been forced to grow up far too quickly.
In the cage with Darin were Ryan Shore, Damon Deval, and Kathleen Law. Ryan was twenty-three with light blond hair and deep green eyes. Damon was twenty-two and had black hair with dark brown eyes. Both had fought bravely in the war but one look at them told they had lost their fighting spirits throughout the past few weeks of captivity. Kathleen looked like a beautiful doll, a vision of loveliness even trapped within the prison in which she was being held. Who would have guessed that this Barbie doll was, from the Empire’s point of view, one of the most dangerous women on Earth?
I called my guards and had the prisoners removed from the cage. Once before me, I turned to Darin and congratulated him on a job well done.
“You certainly gave us a fight; and what a fight it was! You are by far the most cunning opponent I have yet to encounter. I commend you.” As I said this, I watched his eyes narrow.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“Oh forgive me, I forget that we were never properly introduced the last time we met.”
“Chrissa,” he cut in, “but that name means nothing to me.”
“It means nothing to anyone these days. If it helps, my full name is Councilor Chrissalynn Dehartra Kasar. Does that help?” He said nothing. “What can one say? Sometimes fate just plays a hand and you were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Do you hate me?” I asked. “You have every reason to, just as I have every reason to respect you.”
I gave a laugh and turned to Lord Kasar. “These three,” I pointed to Kathleen, Darin and Damon, “have valuable information vital to the Empire. I shall take the two young men while you shall do what you wish with the girl. Use any method of your choice to extract the information from her. I want a full report of what she knows. The information you seek is concerning the Lorid defenses on their home-world.” For a moment, my dear father looked surprised, but he quickly covered his reaction and assured me that he would have the information to me shortly.
Then I turned to address the other rebels that had been captured. “My number five was interested in a human body. Send this one,” I pointed to Ryan, “to the Lorid war front and tell him it’s a gift from his Councilor.” Kathleen w
as standing just to the right of Ryan and at my words, she grabbed his hand tightly. Darin straightened his stance and met my gaze directly for the first time. Lord Kasar’s guards stepped forward and two of them grabbed Ryan’s arm and started to lead him away. Kathleen refused to loosen her grip. Without needing to be told, three more guardsmen stepped forward and forced her to let go as Ryan was dragged towards a ship. Ryan went without resistance while Kathleen fought silently to break free for several moments, before being completely overpowered by the men who held her. “See it done,” I told the guards.
I turned to one of the cages on my left. “Tell me, my Lord,” I said to Kasar, “those prisoners, were they members of the resistance?”
“Yes,” he replied.
I motioned to two of the cages. “Take them out and bring them here. Line them up in front of the pool on this side.” I waited as my orders were carried out. Forty-three members of the resistance were lined up before me. The eldest was a man probably in his early sixties. The youngest was a girl who couldn’t have been more than thirteen. I then motioned to several guards standing by the side of the pool who stepped forward.
After several moments of silence, the guards asked, “My lady?”
“You see these rebels?” I finally asked.
A slight pause, then, “Yes, my Lady.”
“Do you see that girl there?” I pointed to a young girl who was probably fifteen years old. He nodded. “Kill her.”
“What?” he asked, clearly being caught off guard.
Two of my own guard stood behind me, I motioned and the guard who had offered the question screamed as his flesh was evaporated into the air, leaving only a pile of ashes where he had once stood. Paying it no mind, I turned my gaze on the next of Lord Kasar’s guard and repeated the order, “Kill her.” He didn’t hesitate. A shot was fired and the girl in question simply disappeared where she stood.
“No!” Darin screamed.
Suddenly he ran towards me, anger driving him forward. He was still shackled though, and it was little trouble for my guard to step in front of me and knock him to the ground, “I want him alive,” I warned. Three more of my men stepped forward and together, they held Darin to the ground.
“No,” he yelled. “Please no. She was just a child!”
I watched him struggle, but the odds were obviously against him. I was surprised at his continuance to fight; very few did. I knelt down to one knee just in front of him and tilted my head to the left, my eyes searching for his gaze. “Such spirit,” I said softly. “Such valor and bravery, if only you had been on the other side of this war.”
At the sound of my voice, his struggling ceased and he turned his neck in an attempt to face me. “Is it true?” he asked, then hesitated.
“Is what true?” I questioned. Then added, “Ask, I might answer.”
“Is it true,” he said again in a broken voice, “that you serve them of your own free will? That you have no Setian within your mind? That you are,” a pause, “human?”
“I serve no one,” I answered. “I sit on the council. But, I shall forgive your oversight just this once and tell you what you want to know.”
“Please,” he said.
“I am as free as you. But mark me carefully when I say I am not human. I am Setian and I will show you why.” I stood as gracefully as I could while wearing heels and turned to the guard still standing in front of the line of prisoners. “Kill them all.” A high pitched screech deafened my ears and lasers singed the air. Bodies should have fallen to the ground, but they did not, instead being incinerated where they stood. Smoke filled the air, cloaking the lungs of all those who dared to breathe and burning the eyes of those who attempted to watch. When it finally cleared, where once forty rebels had stood side by side, there was now nothing; not a soul in sight.
A moment of silence was followed by Kathleen’s ear-splitting scream. More guards stepped forward, holding her to the ground besides Darin. As I glanced back his way, I found him sobbing on the ground. “Why?” he asked again and again through his heart-wrenching sobs.
“Because,” I answered, “I am the daughter of the Setian Empire and rebellion is not to be tolerated.” As he lay crying, I turned to my guard once again and ordered for all other prisoners to be infested immediately. Most of his fellow rebels were not only given to Setians, but those of higher rank. These prisoners were war prizes and I did enjoying showing off what I won. I then instructed Lord Kasar to finish putting things in order on Earth and then come join me at the front line of the Lorid War. We were not far from winning, and I wanted him by my side as I conquered the greatest foe of the Empire.
I had Darin and Damon, the last of the Empire’s most wanted, taken to my ship. As they were marched towards their cells, they caught a last glimpse of Kathleen as she was taken aboard Lord Kasar's private ship.
She was so pretty; the commander would have fun with this one. It brought a smile to my face. Part of her beauty was the dangerous look in her eye. We would see how nice she really was when that flame was gone and she was in his total power.
I had Darin and Damon taken to separate cells and chained down to their beds to ensure that they would not attempt to harm themselves. After giving brief orders to my father, we took off from earth and began the journey back to the battle front where my army awaited my commands. I took a moment to send word to my second-in-command to leave the battle and begin the journey to Earth. He was being re-assigned and Lord Kasar was coming to the front for the most glorious and final battle of the Empire.
Chapter XXIV
Three days into our journey, the “fun” began. Yes it is true that all I needed to do to get the information required from Darin and Damon was to simply allow a Setian to temporarily enter their minds, but when I gave this information to the rest of the council I wanted absolute credit, which means I needed to break them myself. Besides, I had not been involved in a decent torture session in a while and needed to stay in practice. These men had avoided capture for two years despite our best efforts, making some of the highest-ranking members of the Empire look like fools, including Lord Kasar himself. And I intended to see them properly punished.
For the first session, we would start out easy. It was a type of torture called “neptal.” Neptal was performed by placing neps, which were very similar to a cluster of needles, into some of the most sensitive nerves in the body. Damon and Darin were both removed from their cells and brought to the torture chambers. The walls were white and would have been bare, if it had not been for the numerous devices lining the walls and covering the tables found throughout the room. For this particular day, two tables had been placed near the center of the square room. The tables featured steel straps made of a very expensive metal from the Palta system, said to be virtually unbreakable. When Darin and Damon were dragged into the room, the guards stripped them from the waist up, then forced them onto the table. Their arms and legs were spread to the corners of the tables and chained down with the metal strips. Additional straps were place at their knees, the bend of their arms, and over their foreheads and chin to keep their heads still during the torture. In an attempt to escape the pain, some prisoners in the past had injured their necks from jerking their head so much. It ruined the fun and we could not have that happening.
Lying on the tables, the two, thinking they were so brave, looked very helpless. Wearing a simple pair of black slacks and a matching long sleeve shirt, I went down into the torture room to speak with the prisoners.
“Hello, Darin,” I said softly. “How are you doing today?” When he did not answer I said, “It is rude not to answer when a Lady is speaking to you.”
“You know exactly how I am,” he shot back.
“And you, Damon? How are you today?” He did not answer. “Okay, gentlemen, here’s how this works. You can talk or you can scream. I don’t really care which. However, before this is over you will tell me everything you know about the Lorid home defense system. So either start talking now and
you might have a good day, or don’t and we can begin.” When they did not answer, I gave a small sigh and said, “Have it your way.” I turned to my guard, “Would you ask the inquisitor on duty to come in here please? I would like him to question Damon. I will take Darin myself.”
“Yourself?” the guard asked, his voice holding an edge of fear.
“Yes,” I replied.
A few moments later, the other inquisitor walked in and took a seat beside Damon. I picked up the first nep and inserted it into Darin’s neck in a single point. The inquisitor did the same to Damon. Darin bit his lip, pain instantly showing on his thin face. I placed a second nep on the opposite side of Darin’s neck. He screamed. “Tell me you wish to talk, and they will be removed immediately,” I informed him. He managed to stop screaming and said nothing. I took the tip of my finger and ran it gently over the veins of Darin’s left wrist. “Such smooth skin for a male,” I said softly. “Do you know how many nerves run through a human hand?” Fear touched his eyes, but he fought not to respond through the continuous pain. He jerked against the chains that bound him. The metal cut into his skin. “Careful,” I said. “You cut your wrist.” A small trickle of blood flowed down his right hand. I took the nep and placed it into the center of his left wrist. His scream filled the room. I placed three more in the same wrist. His screams continued. Tears filled his eyes.
I turned to one of my assistants. “Hand me a vial of Sectra D12.” The vial of clear liquid was passed to me. I moved to Darin’s other wrist. “Seeing as you have already cut yourself, I thought we might as well do this.”
I took the vial in my hand carefully and poured a few drops onto Darin’s injured wrist. It took a few seconds for the blood to mix with the chemical, then Darin screamed again, breaking out into a sweat and trying desperately to jerk his hand away. The pulling caused him to slightly move his other wrist in which the neps were still embedded causing a new series of pain. “That is just from a tiny, shallow cut,” I informed him. “Imagine what it will feel like when injected into your veins.”