<USS Atlantis> "A Marine's Tale" Pt. 2

From: "Brad Ruder" <GroundZero@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: ussatlantis@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 1 May 2003 23:52:08 -0700

?A Marine?s Tale?
by Marine Captain Adam Drake

Log Two of Three

A sour stench attacked his nostrils. His eyes fluttered open, but the blackness kept him immune to his surroundings. He looked around and struggled to move forward, backwards, to his left, to his right, anywhere. Restrained to something of unknown origin, something that he was unable to determine.

Footsteps. Moving around him. Adam reached out with his thoughts, but they were so dulled by whatever trauma he?d been afflicted with he couldn?t determine who was there, what they wanted, or if any of his fellow comrades were laying beside him. All he could feel was loneliness, but it was a clouded loneliness.

?I?m glad to see you?re awake, Captain, I feared we might have had to wake you up by,? the voice paused, ?alternative means.? A sinister impression lingered in the air as Adam tried to focus on the shadowy figure moving into and out of his view.

?Who the hell are you?? Adam managed to say as his lips cracked. At the same time he could taste the dried blood crusted on his teeth and on his lips.

?Romulans, of course.?

?Of course, you?ve got that winning Romulan personality.? Not even a chuckle from his captor, but a swift kick in the ribs rolled him over and doubled him over in even more pain than he was in. Already knowing that his right arm was broken, right ankle was sprained, and that the gash on his forehead was trickling warm blood down into his eyes, Adam knew that this wasn?t getting any better.

Then he heard the laughter, ?I suggest you consider talking nicer to me, before I get carried away and you end up on the receiving end of a disrupter blast.? Another evil cackle permeated the sickening silence that had descended. ?I assume you are going to put up a fight, but you?ll fail and crack ? they all do.?

A smile tugged at the tattered face of the away team leader, ?Well, you know what they say about people that assume?? Another kick, this time across the face, sent Adam reeling over sideways and into the wall. Another gushing spurt of blood cascaded onto the floor, but the trickling feeling of it sliding down his face was all the more tempting. ?I forgot; you?re not a person.?

?Silence! You insolent fool!?

?Sticks and stones may break my bones?? A thundering foot came slamming down onto Adam?s left hand. He could hear the instant breaks as the contact was made, and shattering sounds echoed around the chamber as Adam?s screams accompanied them.

His eyes finally seemed to come into focus, and sure enough, there was a six-foot tall Romulan soldier glaring at him from his towering height. ?Puny human, you?re lack of physical endurance kills me.?

?Kind of like your face to me.?

Smiling a bit, the Romulan twisted his foot on Adam?s hand and shifted more weight to the extremity. Adam bit his lip as the pain shot through him and he lashed out, but refused to voice an audible complaint. ?I can keep this up all day.?

?Odd, that?s not what your wife said?? A soft laugh escaped Drake?s lip as the Romulan kicked his elbow; in the opposite direction it would normally bend. Adam lost feeling in his hand, but the sensation shot up through his arm and he cried out in agony.

?Enough with the jokes, Starfleet, tell me what I want to know and I?ll leave you to your wretched existence.? The Romulan knelt down and put his hands on his knees, staring deeply into Adam?s eyes as if to intimidate him.

Adam smiled through the pain that his elbow was now exerting upon his faltering posture. ?Well, my name?s Adam and I enjoy long walks on the beach, and sitting up until dawn?? The unnamed Romulan grabbed his elbow and twisted it more; Adam whipped his arm out and tried to reach for something to grasp, to hold, to fight away the searing pain in his arm.

?I see that you?re not going to respond to simple torture. You won?t confess what we want to know, and therefore we?ll have to get a bit dirtier than normal.? The Romulan stood and motioned for somebody out of Adam?s sight, which he hoped wasn?t there. More footsteps echoed from the hallway outside and two more figures entered.

Being dragged down this corridor and that, into this room and back out, tossed into a heap on the floor in some desolate sector where only the fleas would mourn him was becoming quite tiring. His elbow ached for healing, his body yearned for sleep, and his mind cried out for mental stability ? but none came. It seemed like an eternity passed before he was hoisted into a chair and strapped down.

His head bobbed as the sleep deprivation took hold.

?No you don?t.? A different voice came from behind him. A device was strapped in front of his nose and two prods stuck up his flaring nostrils. ?I would suggest you avoid falling asleep, it may be painful.?

?As if I could smell anything worse than this dump.? An unbelievable pain ripped through his nasal cavity. He tried to breath out his mouth, but the pain still emanated from his throat and when his saliva hit the now-rare throat he cried out in even more agony, but he decided that sleep was no longer needed. ?I was mistaken.?

A slight laugh preceded the man?s phrase, ?Citric acid gas. It?s quite amazing the effects that it has on exposed skin and what happens when it?s breathed.?

Adam choked back any outcry, his throat was a bundle of exposed nerves and it felt as if Romulan Ale ? by the case full ? had been drained into his esophagus. He coughed and sputtered and he tasted blood, which now freely drooled out over his cracking lips. Spitting in the Romulan?s direction, Adam shook his head rashly.

?No? I?m surprised, actually I?m not.? He smiled again, his green skin twisting and distorting, ?I?ve only just begun.?

Adam spit again, spraying red blood all over the green-blooded captor?s face. The man slapped Adam in the face, smearing the already cold blood across his cheek and then he tapped his communication device gingerly, ?Bring in the first one ? the red-headed female.?

Carmen Kaatz was thrown into the less than sterile room. Her hair was in shambles, matted with blood and disheveled from constant beatings, and a tear in her eyelid had covered her left eye with a shiny coating of dried blood. Her lip was swollen and her hands were fastened behind her back. She gave a look of disdain to Adam, but sucked it up and nodded.

?Leave her alone, I?m the ranking officer??

?You?re being uncooperative, Captain, and therefore we must go down the chain of command to get the information we desire.? The Romulan stared him down.

?They don?t know anything??

?None of you do, you?re human, but that doesn?t mean you don?t possess the material that we?re seeking.? Again the soldier bore through him with his shady eyes. ?So, are you going to tell us what we want to know??

Carmen lunged at the officer, falling desperately into the wall. ?Pick her up and put her in front of her superior.? Two more men hustled her in front of Adam, standing just inches in front of him and then he heard the charging of the disrupter. ?Tell us what we want to know and we?ll spare her life.?

His mind was torn. Disarray descended onto his normally tranquil soul, but he couldn?t decide on whether to save this innocent woman?s life, or stand fast to his principles and watch her die a fate worse than death.

She made the decision for him, ?Don?t you tell him anything, Captain, you tell this son of a bitch to burn in whatever hell they believe in.? Her face turned from a worried schoolgirl to a battle-hardened Starfleet officer and her dedication made her intimidating. ?Fire when ready you green-blooded arrogant blow hard.?

Not even realizing it, Carmen was gone. Her body lit up like fireworks and then dimmed into nothingness. He felt the charred molecules land on his clothing, just enough to make a chill run up his spin and into his head. Jerking back violently, Adam struggled against his restraints, he was mortified and at the same time emotionally distraught. He had looked at death in the face and watched it happened.

?Now??

?Burn in whatever hell you believe in you cocky son of a bitch.? Carmen?s words echoed with life through Adam and the man looked taken aback, but more citric acid gas burned through his nasal cavity blinding him with more mind-numbing pain.

He looked at the man with hatred, and tried to pierce him with his very gaze. The Romulan just laughed at him and propped himself up leisurely against the wall. ?There are three other prisoners who we can brutally harm and render useless to anything after their release ? if they are released.?

Again, Adam stared at him with profound anger.

?This is just the beginning Captain. Bring in the next female.?

<USS Atlantis> "A Marine's Tale" Pt. 2

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