Deception: The lesser part of Valour – An Interrogation to Remember
by Colonel James Darson & Captain Tasha Tahir (NPC) & Commander Rakka & Arrival Alexandria Marshall & Lieutenant JG Petro
Post Details
OLD:
Tasha took the seat at the furthest end and smoothed down her trousers as she sat and leant towards Petro as she took the seat next to her.
"Did you know about these viewing rooms?" She asked, keeping her voice just audible to her companion.
"Nothing." Petro answered. She looked around the room to see if anything jogged her memory, something she might have seen on an invoice. "It may have been done while I was under. I don't recognize anything from an incoming inventory."
NEW:
ON:
Rakka strode into the room, ushered in by Darson's staff. She stood tall and stiff with not a trace of emotion showing. Dealing with Riley's death was going to be a difficult matter for her; saying goodbye had been one of the more painful moments of her life, and she knew her goodbyes were not finished yet. However, she had tucked these things away to deal with later and was presently in a state of work-focused numbness. She glanced around, catching sight of Tahir and Petro being led down a hallway. Although curious, she approached Darson immediately.
"Your staff did their duty efficiently today," she began. "What have you to report?"
Darson watched intently as the Captain and Quartermaster drifted down the hallway, and turned just in time to see Rakka approach. As she spoke, he looked intently into her eyes, looking for the spark of anger that he knew she harbored. He found that and more, a sense of pain and loneliness that was attributed to the loss of a comrade in the line of duty.
Quashing any feelings of sympathy, he focused on the matter at hand, “Nothing yet…I’m about to conduct my interrogation of the survivor. If you wish to observe, you may join the Captain and Warrant Officer Petro in the Detention Center’s control booth.”
"I think I would like that," Rakka replied coolly. "Is that all?"
Darson turned his head away and said in an off-hand manner, “I called you here for a very specific reason Commander. I can understand your feelings of grief right now, and so, I decided that I wanted to play a little game with you.”
Rakka narrowed her eyes. What was he on about? "I'm not much interested in games, but I'm listening."
Darson sidestepped and moved closer to Rakka and said quietly, “Remember these words Commander, ‘Sarkissian Crystal”. Repeat it for me please.”
She shifted impatiently, but repeated his words. "Now what is that supposed to signify?"
He leaned in and said quickly and quietly, “I want you to listen very closely to the interrogation, Commander. Because when you hear me say those words, you are going to be faced with a choice.”
"A choice of what nature?" she asked, an edge to her voice. She was getting a little fed up with all of this cloak-and-dagger theatrics. All she wanted was to know that the Lytosian threat was neutralized and to get on with her life.
“Revenge, Commander. For Lieutenant Riley. Whether to take it or not. And I assure you, this is a onetime deal. Let it pass and you will not get another chance. Now then,” He gestured to another Marine passing by, “If you would just accompany the good Corporal to the Control booth, I can get started.”
~Revenge,~ Rakka thought, shutting her eyes for a few moments and rubbing her temples. With a few possible exceptions, Rakka considered vengeance to be an unnecessary distraction and an unacceptable risk, particularly for someone in her position, but she wasn't in the mood for arguing with anyone right now. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and lumbered on after the Corporal.
Darson chuckled quietly as Rakka was lead away to the Control Booth. “Naïve…she thinks that she is above revenge? Humph…I’ll put her to the test. He stalked forward to the checkpoint, and passed without slowing. He made his way to the second Interrogation room guarded by two Marines, and entered, before sealing the door behind him.
Across from him sat the shackled assassin sitting limply in a chair in front of a small bare table. He crossed to the other side and removed a Hypospray filled with a revival agent from his cloak, and injected it in a practiced motion just under her ear. “Time to wake up…”
As the assassin stirred, he took a deep breath of air from his helmet’s filter. Unknown to anybody else, the air was currently being mixed with a potent psychotropic cocktail, odorless and tasteless, it had the effect of heightening emotions, particularly fear and anger.
The assassin began to regain consciousness. She looked around. "I should be dead."
Darson sat calmly in the chair and said, “You’re on Deep Space 5, in an interrogation room. And that’s all you need to know for right now, I think.” Although the drug was potent, it was still subtle enough that it needed a few minutes to take effect. He had to keep her talking.
"Oh how quaint, you're going to torture me? Aren't you?"
Darson didn’t even spare a glance at the woman or even acknowledge her words, and said, “Before you ask, no representation for you I’m afraid. Lawyers…are for accused criminals. You on the other hand, are a soldier. A soldier who made the grave miscalculation of invading the Federation with woefully inadequate forces. Habeas Corpus went right out the window with you…you’re now a Prisoner of War."
The woman smirked. "I bet you have drugged the atmosphere in here? This isn't the first time I've ever been interrogated Federation Scum. Oh yes, the Corporations that Earth set up in the Lytosian System had more... direct methods of Torture. It matters not that I have been captured. The Federation will be crushed and burned. Your Captain with die regardless of what you do. We demand it!"
Petro watched with interest. The interaction between the two of them seemed to be awkward. Her responses and his didn't seem to align with each other. She turned and looked at the Captain whose eyes were fixed on the participants in the room.
Tasha was still not sure what the tactic or course of this interrogation, but she was content to let it proceed, after all, if she was the intended target for their revenge, she wanted to know as much as possible about them.
Darson stared quietly at the woman sitting in the ridiculously uncomfortable chair. There was in fact some truth in what she said. Under the narrow definition of the Federation Bureaucracy, this place could in fact be called a torture chamber. He however, knew what real torture was, and it wasn’t this, at least not yet. This was coercion. It was interrogation. But it wasn’t real torture.
Real torture was causing a person so much unthinkable pain that he or she begged to be killed. It was hooking up a man to a plasma relay, and sending jolts of searing energy through his body. It was holding somebody’s head under freezing water until they passed out and slipped into a coma. It was forcing a man to watch as his wife and children were beaten by a bunch of thugs right in front of him while he is powerless to do anything. It is starving people and forcing them to eat their own excretement. It was monstrous, it was barbaric, and it could also be wildly ineffective. Time and time again such methods proved that most prisoners would say or do anything to stop the pain, sign any confession, and create terrorist plots that didn’t exist, even turn on their own family.
Darson was a practical man however, and believed in using all the tools at his disposal. If this didn’t induce results, he would have to resort to the…cruder…methods of making her talk.
He coughed and leaned forward on the table, his cloak furling around his feet, “I’m not here to torture you…and I most certainly have not drugged the atmosphere in here. As a Prisoner of war, you will be treated according to the Articles of the Seldonis IV Convention,” He said, pleasantly, “Now; I’m going to ask you some questions. And you’re going to tell me the absolute truth. Do you know why?” He stood and his tone darkened,
“Because you are not a true believer. Fear and misguided loyalty have been your main motivations thus far. And this means your allegiances are subject to change. I’m here to show you...a better path. So, let’s get started. What is your full name?”
The woman grinned widely. "You do not know me, so telling you my name would be irrelevant. No one gives a damn what happens in our system. Oh yes, The Corporations exploited us, and the Federation let it happen because it needs to build starships, star bases. I grew up in a world that was burned by the Federation. Sure the Federation promised change, but it never happened. Now we've burned the Corporations, and placed the Federation Governor's head on a pike for all to see." She laughed. "You will be crushed, stabbed, and slaughtered. Eviscerated, shredded, and mutilated. Shot, beheaded, and executed without mercy."
Darson nodded slowly, “Really now…how very interesting,” he said dryly as he leaned back in the chair and contemplated the woman before him once more. In reality he was already running through possible scenarios in his head. One thing was definitively for sure. While she was possibly telling the truth about the Governor and the Corporations, there was a definite cloud over who she was actually working for.
It had been the Calina Consortium who had put the target on Captain Tahir’s back. There was a high statistical probablility that this assassin was in the service of the Consortium, particularly Elexanna Calina. Now there was a nasty piece of work.
He glanced at the chronometer in the corner of his helmet. Five minutes had ticked by so far. “That should be enough,” he thought. He leaned forward, “And how do you expect to help your comrades? You’re trapped here. How do you plan to escape? It’s not like this cell is made from Sarkissian Crystal.” As he said it, he clapped his hands three times in a peculiar manner, once fast, once slow, and once fast again.
Inside the viewing room, a Marine came in and tapped Rakka on the shoulder, “Ma’am, would you come with me please? We have an important message coming in for you.”
Rakka stepped back in a manner that indicated clearly she was not comfortable being touched. "By all means, lead the way," she muttered, following the Marine and preparing to play whatever game was being laid out for her.
The young Marine led Rakka out the door, and around the corner, to the checkpoint, where she said, “Commander, if you would please surrender any weapons on your person before you enter the holding area.”
Rakka growled discontentedly but in the end gave over her phaser as well as a number of small concealed weapons.
After Rakka was passed through, she led her to the second interrogation room, and palmed the chime before leaving back the way she came. A few seconds later the door hissed open and Darson’s voice rang out, “Come in please Commander, we’re a little pressed for time."
A little curious to find Darson in a secondary room, Rakka stepped inside.
The Assassin smiled. She just found the means for a quick death. "Ah... the Nausicaan Fool of Security. Hows that brave and foolish boy that decided to be a Hero?"
Rakka was now quite confused as to what was going on, but she answered the woman: "If you have a death wish I'm not interested in indulging you at the moment. Dealing with Lt. Gabriel has really begun to build up my immunity against exaggerated egotism and careless insults." She leaned forward and stuck her sharp-fanged face into the woman's. "I don't know why people love to bait me so. I didn't get this far in life without learning to keep down most of the murderous impulses that characterize my race. Although I have been known to cause a certain amount of pain on occasion."
Darson slowly walked around the table and quietly observed the heated interaction between the two women, while loving every minute of it. He gave a sidelong glance to the one-way viewing window, and the room behind it that he was sure was empty.
It had been fiendishly clever of him, as well as exceedingly simple. Earlier in the day, he had pulled a tech off the work on the M-TAC, and gave him a special assignment. That assignment was to jury-rig holo-emitters into Room 1, and several sensors into Room 2. The result was that a live feed could be transmitted from this room to the other in real time, and projected. As both Rooms were perfect carbon copies of each other, all that needed to be broadcast was just replicas of him and the assassin.
He had let the feed go live for the first part, but as soon as he had clapped his hands, the tech in the control booth stopped the live feed, and switched seamlessly into a computer generated simulation that continued much in the same vein of the first part of the interrogation, i.e. emotional outbursts and violence from the assassin, and cool and collected responses from his double. While probably not as entertaining as what was actually going on, he had a feeling that it was better if the Captain didn’t see this little encounter.
Meanwhile, the drug would be continuing working on the assassin, and getting to work on Rakka. “This will be interesting…” he thought.
He stepped around behind the restrained woman and cuffed her on the side of her head, “Hey, play nice. If you don’t, you’ll never hear the fantastic once in a life time offer I’m about to give you.”
He leaned in close, and began fiddling with the restraints as he spoke in a silky tone, “You will find that I am a most generous man. If you remain here, I will suck you dry of any useful information, and then dispose of you. I’m giving you a chance to forestall that. So, I want to play a game…a game that will give you a fighting chance of survival…more than you gave poor Lieutenant Riley. I’m going to release you…and if you can get past the Commander here, then I’ll let you go…no questions asked.”
He looked up at the confused Rakka, “Yes…I suppose it wouldn’t exactly be a fair fight, would it? She’s got the size and weight advantage locked down by a long shot…so, to make things fair…” In one swift motion he drew a long, sharp and deadly looking combat knife from inside his cloak, and after spinning it twice in his hand, slammed it blade down into the table, where it protruded, quivering slightly.
He picked for a few more seconds at the restraints and stood up as they fell to the ground with a clang, “Good luck,” He said as he patted the assassin on the shoulder, and walked across the room to stand beside a dumbfounded Commander, clapping again as he moved, which switched the feed back to live.
He waited a beat, and then with a large gasp of feigned and overdramatized surprise, he pointed a finger at the assassin and shouted, “Commander! Through a series of extraordinary and unexplainable events which had nothing whatsoever to do with me, the prisoner has gotten lose, and is now in possession of a weapon! Do something!”
'Fool, he should have known the first rule of assassination.' She thought as she picked up the knife. 'Kill the assassin.' She then charged toward Rakka. 'My life for the consortium.' She thought.
Tasha jumped to the window, her heart leapt to her throat, she had not seen anything and it dawned upon her Darson’s devious deception and where this could now lead. A wicked grin appeared across her face as she turned to Petro.
Petro, confused at what was doing on, didn't feel right about it. "What is he doing?" she asked.
Her smile widened. "Watch," Tasha simply replied, knowing that Rakka would react.
Rakka had only a moment to flash Darson a fierce glare before turning to her attention to the assassin. She didn't mind nonsense like this in a holodeck program, but she really wasn't in the mood for unnecessary combat at the moment. Quickly she blocked the knife with one arm and with the other, jammed the heel of her hand up against the assassin's chin with brutal force.
Petro's hand went to her mouth as she watched. She knew Rakka was a powerful warrior but what of the prisoner? Was she mad? To go against Rakka like that? There was no way she could win.
The flush of excitement gave Tasha a warm glow, only to be quickly replaced by guilt and shame as the assailant slumped to the floor in a heap. It was a mixed set of emotions, but Tasha didn't want to be a part of any longer. She had seen enough and though she felt a meagre amount of pleasure at the events, the way in which the Major had led this mini drama to this conclusion did nothing to ease her own burden of guilt. She tapped her comm.
=^= "Thank you Major. I think we have seen enough. Remove the body." She said, moving forward to the window and placed her hand on the cold glass, wondering how this would affect the Commander, who had acted instinctively in disarming and retaliating with a deadly response.
Rakka quietly checked for a pulse on the assassin's neck. She hadn't meant to kill her, and fortunately she hadn't, though she had ensured that the woman would be in plenty of pain for any further interrogation. She looked to Darson for a response.
Darson observed quietly for a moment, and then slowly began to clap. Not the same clap that he used to trigger the feed switch, but a mocking applause of sorts. He glided over to the opposite side of the prone body, and nudged it with an armored foot.
He gazed down at Rakka from under his cloak and gave a small chuckle, “Well, I must say that I’m impressed Commander. After all that, you didn’t kill her…even though she deserved it. Admirable restraint on your part. I suppose that means you pass.”
"Don't patronize me!" Rakka snarled, the gas in the atmosphere now truly beginning to take effect upon her emotions. "You are hardly more in my favour right now than that creature!" She pointed to the crumpled form of the assassin.
Darson gave and huffed, “It was a game, Commander…just a game. Nothing more, and nothing less. And you preformed well. Congratulations. However, I’m sorry to say you receive no prize for your participation, other than that which has already been extracted.”
He turned to face the window, and bowed, “Captain and Quartermaster, I hope you enjoyed this performance. I will compile my reports immediately, and submit my recommendations based on the intelligence obtained.”
As his guests left, he stared down at the unmoving body. He made a hand signal in the air to cut all the feeds to and from the room. As he did so, a pair of Marines entered the Interrogation room and stood awaiting orders.
Darson turned and said, “Take her to the doctor…have him take all the samples I discussed with him, then throw her back in her cell. Rotate the guard, and recheck the transporter inhibitors.”
“Yes sir,” The Marines replied as they each grabbed her arms and legs, and dragged her out. Darson stayed there for a few more moments, then left the room, turning the lights off when he left.
OFF?
MCO: Major James Darson
CO: Captain Tasha Tahir
Quartermaster - Petro
CSec: Lieutenant Commander Rakka
Lieutenant Commander T'Lan
by Colonel James Darson & Captain Tasha Tahir (NPC) & Commander Rakka & Arrival Alexandria Marshall & Lieutenant JG Petro
Post Details
| Title | An Interrogation to Remember | |
| Mission | Deception: The lesser part of Valour | |
| Author(s) | Colonel James Darson & Captain Tasha Tahir (NPC) & Commander Rakka & Arrival Alexandria Marshall & Lieutenant JG Petro | |
| Posted | Tue Dec 16, 2008 @ 7:58am | |
| Location | Marine Detention Center | |
| Timeline | SD 3 - 19:00 Hours (Backpost) |
Tasha took the seat at the furthest end and smoothed down her trousers as she sat and leant towards Petro as she took the seat next to her.
"Did you know about these viewing rooms?" She asked, keeping her voice just audible to her companion.
"Nothing." Petro answered. She looked around the room to see if anything jogged her memory, something she might have seen on an invoice. "It may have been done while I was under. I don't recognize anything from an incoming inventory."
NEW:
ON:
Rakka strode into the room, ushered in by Darson's staff. She stood tall and stiff with not a trace of emotion showing. Dealing with Riley's death was going to be a difficult matter for her; saying goodbye had been one of the more painful moments of her life, and she knew her goodbyes were not finished yet. However, she had tucked these things away to deal with later and was presently in a state of work-focused numbness. She glanced around, catching sight of Tahir and Petro being led down a hallway. Although curious, she approached Darson immediately.
"Your staff did their duty efficiently today," she began. "What have you to report?"
Darson watched intently as the Captain and Quartermaster drifted down the hallway, and turned just in time to see Rakka approach. As she spoke, he looked intently into her eyes, looking for the spark of anger that he knew she harbored. He found that and more, a sense of pain and loneliness that was attributed to the loss of a comrade in the line of duty.
Quashing any feelings of sympathy, he focused on the matter at hand, “Nothing yet…I’m about to conduct my interrogation of the survivor. If you wish to observe, you may join the Captain and Warrant Officer Petro in the Detention Center’s control booth.”
"I think I would like that," Rakka replied coolly. "Is that all?"
Darson turned his head away and said in an off-hand manner, “I called you here for a very specific reason Commander. I can understand your feelings of grief right now, and so, I decided that I wanted to play a little game with you.”
Rakka narrowed her eyes. What was he on about? "I'm not much interested in games, but I'm listening."
Darson sidestepped and moved closer to Rakka and said quietly, “Remember these words Commander, ‘Sarkissian Crystal”. Repeat it for me please.”
She shifted impatiently, but repeated his words. "Now what is that supposed to signify?"
He leaned in and said quickly and quietly, “I want you to listen very closely to the interrogation, Commander. Because when you hear me say those words, you are going to be faced with a choice.”
"A choice of what nature?" she asked, an edge to her voice. She was getting a little fed up with all of this cloak-and-dagger theatrics. All she wanted was to know that the Lytosian threat was neutralized and to get on with her life.
“Revenge, Commander. For Lieutenant Riley. Whether to take it or not. And I assure you, this is a onetime deal. Let it pass and you will not get another chance. Now then,” He gestured to another Marine passing by, “If you would just accompany the good Corporal to the Control booth, I can get started.”
~Revenge,~ Rakka thought, shutting her eyes for a few moments and rubbing her temples. With a few possible exceptions, Rakka considered vengeance to be an unnecessary distraction and an unacceptable risk, particularly for someone in her position, but she wasn't in the mood for arguing with anyone right now. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and lumbered on after the Corporal.
Darson chuckled quietly as Rakka was lead away to the Control Booth. “Naïve…she thinks that she is above revenge? Humph…I’ll put her to the test. He stalked forward to the checkpoint, and passed without slowing. He made his way to the second Interrogation room guarded by two Marines, and entered, before sealing the door behind him.
Across from him sat the shackled assassin sitting limply in a chair in front of a small bare table. He crossed to the other side and removed a Hypospray filled with a revival agent from his cloak, and injected it in a practiced motion just under her ear. “Time to wake up…”
As the assassin stirred, he took a deep breath of air from his helmet’s filter. Unknown to anybody else, the air was currently being mixed with a potent psychotropic cocktail, odorless and tasteless, it had the effect of heightening emotions, particularly fear and anger.
The assassin began to regain consciousness. She looked around. "I should be dead."
Darson sat calmly in the chair and said, “You’re on Deep Space 5, in an interrogation room. And that’s all you need to know for right now, I think.” Although the drug was potent, it was still subtle enough that it needed a few minutes to take effect. He had to keep her talking.
"Oh how quaint, you're going to torture me? Aren't you?"
Darson didn’t even spare a glance at the woman or even acknowledge her words, and said, “Before you ask, no representation for you I’m afraid. Lawyers…are for accused criminals. You on the other hand, are a soldier. A soldier who made the grave miscalculation of invading the Federation with woefully inadequate forces. Habeas Corpus went right out the window with you…you’re now a Prisoner of War."
The woman smirked. "I bet you have drugged the atmosphere in here? This isn't the first time I've ever been interrogated Federation Scum. Oh yes, the Corporations that Earth set up in the Lytosian System had more... direct methods of Torture. It matters not that I have been captured. The Federation will be crushed and burned. Your Captain with die regardless of what you do. We demand it!"
Petro watched with interest. The interaction between the two of them seemed to be awkward. Her responses and his didn't seem to align with each other. She turned and looked at the Captain whose eyes were fixed on the participants in the room.
Tasha was still not sure what the tactic or course of this interrogation, but she was content to let it proceed, after all, if she was the intended target for their revenge, she wanted to know as much as possible about them.
Darson stared quietly at the woman sitting in the ridiculously uncomfortable chair. There was in fact some truth in what she said. Under the narrow definition of the Federation Bureaucracy, this place could in fact be called a torture chamber. He however, knew what real torture was, and it wasn’t this, at least not yet. This was coercion. It was interrogation. But it wasn’t real torture.
Real torture was causing a person so much unthinkable pain that he or she begged to be killed. It was hooking up a man to a plasma relay, and sending jolts of searing energy through his body. It was holding somebody’s head under freezing water until they passed out and slipped into a coma. It was forcing a man to watch as his wife and children were beaten by a bunch of thugs right in front of him while he is powerless to do anything. It is starving people and forcing them to eat their own excretement. It was monstrous, it was barbaric, and it could also be wildly ineffective. Time and time again such methods proved that most prisoners would say or do anything to stop the pain, sign any confession, and create terrorist plots that didn’t exist, even turn on their own family.
Darson was a practical man however, and believed in using all the tools at his disposal. If this didn’t induce results, he would have to resort to the…cruder…methods of making her talk.
He coughed and leaned forward on the table, his cloak furling around his feet, “I’m not here to torture you…and I most certainly have not drugged the atmosphere in here. As a Prisoner of war, you will be treated according to the Articles of the Seldonis IV Convention,” He said, pleasantly, “Now; I’m going to ask you some questions. And you’re going to tell me the absolute truth. Do you know why?” He stood and his tone darkened,
“Because you are not a true believer. Fear and misguided loyalty have been your main motivations thus far. And this means your allegiances are subject to change. I’m here to show you...a better path. So, let’s get started. What is your full name?”
The woman grinned widely. "You do not know me, so telling you my name would be irrelevant. No one gives a damn what happens in our system. Oh yes, The Corporations exploited us, and the Federation let it happen because it needs to build starships, star bases. I grew up in a world that was burned by the Federation. Sure the Federation promised change, but it never happened. Now we've burned the Corporations, and placed the Federation Governor's head on a pike for all to see." She laughed. "You will be crushed, stabbed, and slaughtered. Eviscerated, shredded, and mutilated. Shot, beheaded, and executed without mercy."
Darson nodded slowly, “Really now…how very interesting,” he said dryly as he leaned back in the chair and contemplated the woman before him once more. In reality he was already running through possible scenarios in his head. One thing was definitively for sure. While she was possibly telling the truth about the Governor and the Corporations, there was a definite cloud over who she was actually working for.
It had been the Calina Consortium who had put the target on Captain Tahir’s back. There was a high statistical probablility that this assassin was in the service of the Consortium, particularly Elexanna Calina. Now there was a nasty piece of work.
He glanced at the chronometer in the corner of his helmet. Five minutes had ticked by so far. “That should be enough,” he thought. He leaned forward, “And how do you expect to help your comrades? You’re trapped here. How do you plan to escape? It’s not like this cell is made from Sarkissian Crystal.” As he said it, he clapped his hands three times in a peculiar manner, once fast, once slow, and once fast again.
Inside the viewing room, a Marine came in and tapped Rakka on the shoulder, “Ma’am, would you come with me please? We have an important message coming in for you.”
Rakka stepped back in a manner that indicated clearly she was not comfortable being touched. "By all means, lead the way," she muttered, following the Marine and preparing to play whatever game was being laid out for her.
The young Marine led Rakka out the door, and around the corner, to the checkpoint, where she said, “Commander, if you would please surrender any weapons on your person before you enter the holding area.”
Rakka growled discontentedly but in the end gave over her phaser as well as a number of small concealed weapons.
After Rakka was passed through, she led her to the second interrogation room, and palmed the chime before leaving back the way she came. A few seconds later the door hissed open and Darson’s voice rang out, “Come in please Commander, we’re a little pressed for time."
A little curious to find Darson in a secondary room, Rakka stepped inside.
The Assassin smiled. She just found the means for a quick death. "Ah... the Nausicaan Fool of Security. Hows that brave and foolish boy that decided to be a Hero?"
Rakka was now quite confused as to what was going on, but she answered the woman: "If you have a death wish I'm not interested in indulging you at the moment. Dealing with Lt. Gabriel has really begun to build up my immunity against exaggerated egotism and careless insults." She leaned forward and stuck her sharp-fanged face into the woman's. "I don't know why people love to bait me so. I didn't get this far in life without learning to keep down most of the murderous impulses that characterize my race. Although I have been known to cause a certain amount of pain on occasion."
Darson slowly walked around the table and quietly observed the heated interaction between the two women, while loving every minute of it. He gave a sidelong glance to the one-way viewing window, and the room behind it that he was sure was empty.
It had been fiendishly clever of him, as well as exceedingly simple. Earlier in the day, he had pulled a tech off the work on the M-TAC, and gave him a special assignment. That assignment was to jury-rig holo-emitters into Room 1, and several sensors into Room 2. The result was that a live feed could be transmitted from this room to the other in real time, and projected. As both Rooms were perfect carbon copies of each other, all that needed to be broadcast was just replicas of him and the assassin.
He had let the feed go live for the first part, but as soon as he had clapped his hands, the tech in the control booth stopped the live feed, and switched seamlessly into a computer generated simulation that continued much in the same vein of the first part of the interrogation, i.e. emotional outbursts and violence from the assassin, and cool and collected responses from his double. While probably not as entertaining as what was actually going on, he had a feeling that it was better if the Captain didn’t see this little encounter.
Meanwhile, the drug would be continuing working on the assassin, and getting to work on Rakka. “This will be interesting…” he thought.
He stepped around behind the restrained woman and cuffed her on the side of her head, “Hey, play nice. If you don’t, you’ll never hear the fantastic once in a life time offer I’m about to give you.”
He leaned in close, and began fiddling with the restraints as he spoke in a silky tone, “You will find that I am a most generous man. If you remain here, I will suck you dry of any useful information, and then dispose of you. I’m giving you a chance to forestall that. So, I want to play a game…a game that will give you a fighting chance of survival…more than you gave poor Lieutenant Riley. I’m going to release you…and if you can get past the Commander here, then I’ll let you go…no questions asked.”
He looked up at the confused Rakka, “Yes…I suppose it wouldn’t exactly be a fair fight, would it? She’s got the size and weight advantage locked down by a long shot…so, to make things fair…” In one swift motion he drew a long, sharp and deadly looking combat knife from inside his cloak, and after spinning it twice in his hand, slammed it blade down into the table, where it protruded, quivering slightly.
He picked for a few more seconds at the restraints and stood up as they fell to the ground with a clang, “Good luck,” He said as he patted the assassin on the shoulder, and walked across the room to stand beside a dumbfounded Commander, clapping again as he moved, which switched the feed back to live.
He waited a beat, and then with a large gasp of feigned and overdramatized surprise, he pointed a finger at the assassin and shouted, “Commander! Through a series of extraordinary and unexplainable events which had nothing whatsoever to do with me, the prisoner has gotten lose, and is now in possession of a weapon! Do something!”
'Fool, he should have known the first rule of assassination.' She thought as she picked up the knife. 'Kill the assassin.' She then charged toward Rakka. 'My life for the consortium.' She thought.
Tasha jumped to the window, her heart leapt to her throat, she had not seen anything and it dawned upon her Darson’s devious deception and where this could now lead. A wicked grin appeared across her face as she turned to Petro.
Petro, confused at what was doing on, didn't feel right about it. "What is he doing?" she asked.
Her smile widened. "Watch," Tasha simply replied, knowing that Rakka would react.
Rakka had only a moment to flash Darson a fierce glare before turning to her attention to the assassin. She didn't mind nonsense like this in a holodeck program, but she really wasn't in the mood for unnecessary combat at the moment. Quickly she blocked the knife with one arm and with the other, jammed the heel of her hand up against the assassin's chin with brutal force.
Petro's hand went to her mouth as she watched. She knew Rakka was a powerful warrior but what of the prisoner? Was she mad? To go against Rakka like that? There was no way she could win.
The flush of excitement gave Tasha a warm glow, only to be quickly replaced by guilt and shame as the assailant slumped to the floor in a heap. It was a mixed set of emotions, but Tasha didn't want to be a part of any longer. She had seen enough and though she felt a meagre amount of pleasure at the events, the way in which the Major had led this mini drama to this conclusion did nothing to ease her own burden of guilt. She tapped her comm.
=^= "Thank you Major. I think we have seen enough. Remove the body." She said, moving forward to the window and placed her hand on the cold glass, wondering how this would affect the Commander, who had acted instinctively in disarming and retaliating with a deadly response.
Rakka quietly checked for a pulse on the assassin's neck. She hadn't meant to kill her, and fortunately she hadn't, though she had ensured that the woman would be in plenty of pain for any further interrogation. She looked to Darson for a response.
Darson observed quietly for a moment, and then slowly began to clap. Not the same clap that he used to trigger the feed switch, but a mocking applause of sorts. He glided over to the opposite side of the prone body, and nudged it with an armored foot.
He gazed down at Rakka from under his cloak and gave a small chuckle, “Well, I must say that I’m impressed Commander. After all that, you didn’t kill her…even though she deserved it. Admirable restraint on your part. I suppose that means you pass.”
"Don't patronize me!" Rakka snarled, the gas in the atmosphere now truly beginning to take effect upon her emotions. "You are hardly more in my favour right now than that creature!" She pointed to the crumpled form of the assassin.
Darson gave and huffed, “It was a game, Commander…just a game. Nothing more, and nothing less. And you preformed well. Congratulations. However, I’m sorry to say you receive no prize for your participation, other than that which has already been extracted.”
He turned to face the window, and bowed, “Captain and Quartermaster, I hope you enjoyed this performance. I will compile my reports immediately, and submit my recommendations based on the intelligence obtained.”
As his guests left, he stared down at the unmoving body. He made a hand signal in the air to cut all the feeds to and from the room. As he did so, a pair of Marines entered the Interrogation room and stood awaiting orders.
Darson turned and said, “Take her to the doctor…have him take all the samples I discussed with him, then throw her back in her cell. Rotate the guard, and recheck the transporter inhibitors.”
“Yes sir,” The Marines replied as they each grabbed her arms and legs, and dragged her out. Darson stayed there for a few more moments, then left the room, turning the lights off when he left.
OFF?
MCO: Major James Darson
CO: Captain Tasha Tahir
Quartermaster - Petro
CSec: Lieutenant Commander Rakka
Lieutenant Commander T'Lan