Blazer cocked his head to the side. “Any idea what’s going to happen?”
“Not yet,” Trevis replied.
A tapping reverberated through the stone wall, and Arion held up a hand to silence them both. He focused all his attention on listening, before tapping back the same message, then waited for an affirmative before he proceeded. He ran across the room to the wall beside Blazer and began to tap out the message again. He waited for the next room to tap it back and after confirming that it was the same, tapped back the affirmative. He sat back down on his bunk after he’d finished.
“What’s the word, big guy?” Blazer asked, his mind still too foggy to translate the message himself.
“You’re not going to like it.”
“How so?”
“Bichard overheard the guards and picked up a weak transmission confirming it. They’ve ordered in mind probes.”
That’s got to be the understatement of the annura. Mind probes, especially Galactic Federation ones in particular, were crude implements. These weren’t telepaths or psionics sifting through a person’s memories with practiced skill. These machines acted more like jack hammers that tore apart the subject’s brain, examining it for bits of gold. Psychological scarring was a common result, and resistance only increased the pain and potential for damage.
"What we be needing now, be information on our prison so we can formulate a plan," Trevis commented.
Blazer nodded. "Right, and the only way we'll get that information is for someone to be taken from their cell..."
As if in response, the metal door of the cell sprang open. It slammed against the inner wall with a hard clank. High intensity light from outside streaked in and blinded the trio, forcing them to cover their eyes, and two guards moved in, their forms silhouetted against the blinding white light. They grabbed hold of Blazer, still too weak to resist, and dragged him away.
Location: Unknown, Interrogation Chamber
Several hects later, the webbing harness of the interrogation frame in which Blazer hung dug into his skin. The screams of his fellow squad mates in other chambers penetrated the pristine white walls, the near surgical cleanliness of the suite a distinct contrast to his cell.
The mind probes weren’t ready, so the guards had resorted to older techniques, beating information out of the cadets. The torturers in the chambers were experts at their jobs. Blazer’s brought him to the edge of his pain threshold and held him there until he relented or passed out. Blazer refused to cooperate, remaining defiant against every question. From the sounds in the other chambers, the others were as well. Each time he resisted the interrogators’ questions, the torturers stepped in. They had found Blazer’s most obvious weakness earlier and, by exploiting it, they were slowly killing him.
He hung exhausted in the harness after the latest session. They had drained away so much of the electric charge stored in the electrolytic layer under his skin that he had trouble breathing. His head felt like it massed a ton as he looked at his torturer, fondling a torture device well-designed for Blazer. It looked like a cattle prod, but instead of delivering a shock, it extracted electricity, draining it away in the most painful way possible.
It was an old torture method which had been used against Energy Gatherers like him, and he found it to be an effective one. He had discharged so much energy into that device that he had started to lose sensation in his hands and feet. Each breath felt more painful than the last as his hearts’ beating weakened with each passing extraction. Have they exhausted my electrolytic layer to the point that they’re draining the electrical impulses that power my other organs too?
The interrogator stooped in front of Blazer. His neat, slicked-back hair and dark businesslike suit contrasted with the rest of the room. Even the torturer stood in what looked much like surgical wear. But this interrogator looked like some kind of high-powered businessman, and his deep flawless voice set Blazer even more on edge than the prod resting on his back. “This can all be over, cadet. Just tell us what we want to know.”
Blazer’s eyes scraped in his sockets as he looked up. That’s not a good sign. “Cadet First Annura, Schan Vaughnt...”
The interrogator stood, signaling to the torturer, and Blazer felt the prod drive into his back again. His world exploded with pain again, with more electrical energy being robbed from his body.
Blazer screamed. He didn’t know how much more of this he could take. As the prod pulled away, he slumped back into the harness. He’d never discharged this much in his life, didn’t even know he had this level of reserves within him. His breath came in ragged gasps, his hearts slowing, his brain muddled.
“Come now, cadet, we don’t want to have to kill you,” the interrogator soothed, cocking his head to one side and popping his neck. “You are such a fine specimen, good to study, and learn how you do what you do.”
Blazer tried to look up at him, but couldn’t. He managed to loll his head to one side and wheeze, “No.”
It was weak, but it was all the defiance he could muster. They jabbed the prod into his back again. A universe of pain engulfed him, and then it faded. He lost sensation, first in his toes and fingers. The loss raced to his core and his head, and then he felt nothing. He didn’t even twitch under the prod and collapsed back into the webbing; the last sensation he felt was his lungs burning with each tiny breath.
Location: Unknown, Detention Block
The door to Marda’s cell flung open, the light from outside blinding her and Chris as they sat there. “Step back,” one of the guards called, before they dumped Blazer’s limp body into the cell.
He slammed down hard onto the stone floor, both women staring in disbelief at his inert form. Marda’s hearts froze at the scene. As the door closed, Marda jumped down to examine him. She rolled him onto his back, found his face cut and bloodied by the impact. She pried his eyes open and saw only the whites. The eyes were dry. She shivered and checked his mouth. Again, it was dry. She squeezed his hands. The electrolytic layer beneath felt hard, and his skin wasn’t pliable, as it should be. She put her ear to his chest. Messiah preserve him.
Marda listened to the faint heartbeats then looked up at Chris. “Help me get him up on a bunk.”
Chris complied and helped her lift Blazer onto one of the lower bunks. “What’s wrong?”
“He’s in the early stages of Tem Sickness, best I can figure.” Marda choked on the words and looking up at Chris saw that she didn’t understand. “It’s an Energy Gatherer’s disease. It happens when an Energy Gatherer blows out too much of their energy reserves. Feel his skin.”
Chris felt Blazer’s hand for a moment and jerked away.
“The electrolytic layer beneath his skin is breaking down. He has to keep an electrical reserve in that gel layer, or it loses its structure. It will make his skin slough off, then kill him.”
“What do we do?” Chris asked, staring at Blazer.
Marda also stared at her lover for a long moment. Get a grip, he’s just another patient right now, stay objective. “We have to give him a recharge.”
Chris looked around the room. There were no electrical outlets that she could see, just the glow panels. She ran to the other bunk and attempted to pull off one of the coiled springs beneath it. They wouldn’t budge, being welded in place. Gritting her teeth, she ripped her shirt off before running to the toilet. She threw it in and soaked it in the water. After she pulled it out, she ripped it up into strips and tied them together.
“Good thinking,” Marda commented as Chris handed her one end. Marda tied it around Blazer’s limp hand for a moment. One look at his pallid face changed her mind. She gave him a quick kiss, moistening his lips, stuck the end of the cloth in his mouth, and forced it closed. “I’m sorry,” she said to him, moved clear, and signaled to Chris.
Chris smashed the cover off one of the glow panels, shattering the bulb within. She shoved her end of the wet cloth in. Electricity sparked and surged down the wet cloth. Marda winced when Blazer jumpe
d and bucked in response for a moment and then relaxed. She held her hand above the wet cloth for a moment, felt the water sizzle in response to energy flowing through it.
Marda turned her attention back to Blazer. “Don’t pull too hard Blazer, you’ll blow the breaker.” His breathing steadied into short shallow breaths. She sighed and sat back, relieved. Thank you, god, she whispered. “We have to keep it conducting, and keep it wet. The dirtier the water, the better.”
Chris looked down at Blazer. “What else can we do?”
Marda continued to look down at Blazer and wished she could touch him, wished she could have made love with him back on Anul. Damn you Jell, why did you keep us apart? “I don’t know. This is all I can think of. We just have to keep the strip conducting as best we can. Adding salt to it would help if we had any.” Feeling herself starting to ramble, she stopped and looked up at Chris. “You’d better signal the others, to let them know.”
Chris nodded and ran to the wall to tap out a message, explaining their situation.
***
When he awoke several hects later, Blazer’s eyelids felt even heavier than when he had pulled maneuvers. His skin felt cracked and dry. Tem Sickness, he realized. But he was awake, and his hearts beat a regular rhythm. Those were good signs. He tasted something wet in his mouth and felt it with his tongue, cloth? He lolled his head to one side and let it slip free.
A hand rolled his head back up and shoved the cloth back in his mouth. He spit it out again. “Stop,” he moaned. The cloth tasted foul.
“Thank god,” Marda said.
Blazer tried to smile, but couldn’t. “What happened?”
“I’m not sure. They just dumped you in here without saying anything.”
“Is everyone all right?”
Marda shook her head. “No, everyone’s been taken away at least once so far. They’ve got Chris right now.”
He forced his eyes open and looked up at her. She attempted to cover the bruises on her face with her hair, but he still saw them. Anger filled him as he imagined her torture session. “Even you?” He tried to sit up, but it felt like ten gravities was pressing down on him. Even raising a hand to touch her was impossible.
Marda put a hand on his chest to force him back down. “Don’t try and sit up. You’ll need to recharge all duwn before you can manage that.”
Blazer groaned and looked around the room, noting that only one of the six glow panels still emitted any light. “Did you have to burn out all of those just for me?”
“We didn’t have any choice. You kept burning them out. The current load only dropped in the last hect, I would say.”
“How bad did they drain me?”
Marda managed a weak smile. “I don’t know. Chris wasn’t able to build a multimeter.”
Blazer smiled back and it took all his strength to lay his hand on her side. “We’ll make it through this. Have we lost anyone?”
“Not that I’ve seen, but Blazer, if they keep this up, they’ll kill you.”
Blazer accomplished a weak nod. “That’s why he have to get the Sheol out of here. I’m already thinking of a plan, but I need to drink something. No offense, but that cloth you stuck in my mouth tastes like piss.”
Marda looked away and got up to get him a drink from the sink. By the time she returned, he was on the verge of passing out again. She wrapped the cloth around his hand and looked back down at him. “We have to get out of here,” she said and kissed him.
“We will,” he croaked.
The door slammed open and guards shoved Chris back in after her interrogation. Chris spun about and yelled back at her captors, her naked torso covered in bruises, welts and hair-thin cuts. “Is that the best you cubs can manage?” she screamed, the telltale marks of the mindprobe marring her forehead. She stood defiant until the door closed, huffing at her captors. Once the light fell away, though, she fell to her knees and wailed, tears streaming down her face.
Marda rushed to her as Telsh leapt down from her bunk and the two women helped Chris to sit on the bunk opposite Blazer. He turned to face her. What the Sheol did they show her with the mindprobe that could break Chris like that?
“Are you all right? What happened?” Marda asked as she examined Chris.
“I’m fine,” Chris said between sobs. Blazer recognized that these were not sobs of pain, but of loss and mental torment. Her little display a moment ago was her final act of defiance against her captors. “They made me relive things, memories, it was horrible, and then, then…” she couldn’t go on.
“Chris, how long have they used the mindprobe?” Blazer asked.
Chris looked up at Blazer and nodded. “They’ve had it up the last couple hects,” she replied, trying to get her emotions under control. “But that’s not the worst part. It’s Deniv. Deniv cracked.”
Everyone gasped, unsure of what to think of the news. Blazer felt his world shatter, not Deniv!
“I don’t know how,” Chris went on, tears still flowing despite her best efforts to stop them. “I was in the next chamber and when the door opened, I just heard him give up. Then they trotted him through all the chambers, used him as an example to the rest of us. I thought he was faking at first, using it to try and escape. But he was completely broken, and they took him away.”
Blazer felt his anger rise up. These interrogators and torturers were experts at their craft and all of them, even he had cracked under the pressure, crying out in pain, but he had offered up nothing. What could they have done to break Deniv? What did he, what could he, have told them? Deniv is no traitor.
“We’ll find Deniv,” he said. “We’ll break free of this place and find Deniv, and we’ll kill all these bastards. You have my word on that.” Lazith’s face sprang to mind again at his proclamation and two words as well. Never Again.
UCSB DATE: 1001.026
Star System: Unknown, UCSBS-Krain, Captain’s Office
Marda sighed as she sat back in the plush chair and massaged her temples. Thank God that rescue team found us when they did. I don’t know how much longer we could have held out.
The door slid away and Marda turned to watch the ship’s captain walk in. She made to stand but he waved her back into her seat. “Sit down cadet, you’ve earned a rest.”
“Thank you sir, how’s the rest of my team?”
“Recovering,” the captain commented and took his seat. “You’re the only one fit enough to talk at the moment though.”
Really, what about Arion? Marda shook her head, sure that the interrogators had to have beaten Arion worse than the rest with his self-healing ability. “I see, sir. How can I help you?”
“Tell me about what happened.”
“It was barbaric, sir. And the mind probes,” she shuddered and grabbed her shoulders. “I don’t want to go through anything like that again.”
“Makes you wonder why we even bother, why we put young people like you in harm’s way.”
Marda returned an incredulous look. “Sir, you can’t be serious. If we were to do nothing then the Geffers would just do this to countless others.”
“Really? Is that what you think?”
This has to be some kind of test. Right? “Yes sir, ever since the Galactic Federation first appeared on our borders two centuries ago, they’ve been nothing but aggressive against us.”
“Yet they presented the Treaty of Tamkin’s Star and the Armistice.”
“Only after the Confederation offered them how many peace accords before that?” She shook her head, her temples still hurting. “The Geffers attacked us first, annihilating a patrol that made no aggressive action when they made first contact.”
“And we returned that favor in kind, destroying their ship. A ship with a crew of hundreds. What choice did we leave them?”
“We presented a peace offering as soon as we discovered where they were from. It was all a mistake. But that doesn’t excuse their acts of piracy along our borders, or the destruction of the Dagonite Refugee convoys in 782. They
proved their intentions and we had to fight back.”
“Calm down, cadet. I can see that you know your history. But do you know what one of the prime considerations for fighting the Galactic Federation has always been?”
Marda shook her head. “Other than the emancipation of all their slave races, no sir.”
“How about the imprisonment of one of their member races?”
Marda felt taken aback, until the answer came to her. “The Pharad, that’s right, they never completed the space ban that the Confed imposed upon them. The Galactic Federation freed them twenty annura before first contact.”
“Do you ever look at the concept of the space ban and consider it unjust? I mean isolating an entire people to their homeworld because a few went rogue?”
A spike of pain ripped through Marda’s head and her vision blurred for a moment. “Sorry sir, but there was much more to it than that. Can I have some water?”
The captain nodded and tapped a button on his desk before waving for her to continue.
“The Pharad government disrupted the whole of the hyperspace buoy network, destroying buoys and corrupting the database during their war of secession. Then when we found out how they’d manipulated the Telshin into going to war with us before that, and that was the just beginning of their crimes. The Confederation had no choice but to space ban them. It took us another thirty annura to restore contact with all the colonies. Not to mention the fact that they kept the rise of the Galactic Federation within the Consign Spur a secret.”
“And why is it called that, the Consign Spur?”
How could he not know that? “Sir?” Another spike of pain shot through her head and she gritted her teeth against the pain.
“Just humor me, cadet. I want to make sure you’re all right.”
“If this headache would just go away, sure. But it’s the Consign Spur because during the ancient wars, several very powerful beings were imprisoned there, many of whom were considered immortal—not that we can confirm that.”
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