If Wishes Were Dreams Realized pt III - JL Capt Neyes, Cmdr Ivanova, Commo Levine (apb Moo), Noturan Captor (apb Moo)

Posted on Mon Jul 14th, 2014 @ 12:55am by Captain Landon Neyes & Admiral Rochelle Ivanova

1,499 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: In the Dark

"Ooh," Andrea chimed in, leaning back against the cave wall with amused interest. "Maybe you should ask him for a refill."

Landon's ghost shot the woman a sharp look.

Rochelle was thrown off her feet by the combination of her surprise, her attempt to wheel away from the oncoming man, and whatever still messed with her head. Her eyes, squinting in the sudden light, darted from the man to Landon and then to Andrea and back, "About what?" she rasped.

"Your ship," the man answered abruptly and gestured at the door; a man peeked in and closed it, much more gently than it was opened.

A snort rolled from the backgroung. "My ship, he means." Neyes scoffed.

The man walked to the corner and sat on a boulder, glancing at the remnants of the food and gestured at another smaller rock shelf next to Rochelle. "Sit. We speak, then you can eat again, and drink."

"Refill," Andrea nodded sagely, giving Rochelle a "told ya" shrug.

Suspicious, Rochelle pulled herself up off the cold, hard floor and rested her back against the wall again for stability "I'll stand. I'm not hungry." She replied, her eyes flickering to Andrea, knowing she was right on the money trail concerning the technology. There was, however, something about the food. A message there -- the redheaded Commander was still trying to follow, trying to dig through the foggy catacombs of her mind to figure out that last piece of the puzzle.

"What do you want with the ship? It isn't mine." Honesty was always the best policy.

"Oooh, good one," Andrea smirked, "deny ownership! that might work."

But the man shrugged but kept his gaze steady on her. "That ship's crew disagrees with you. Your stupid space dweller friends thought we can be underestimated. They learned how bad that idea was." His voice remained calm, but his gaze intensified with anger.

"You are not here to be dead, or you would be already" he gestured with shaky hands, trying mightily to settle his anger from growing into rage. "But we are not the stupid animals our government says we are," he took a breath, and near him, Andrea leaned forward and watched him in mock interest.

Rochelle blinked in response, stoic and poised at the edge of the rocks she sat on. In the corner of her eye she could just barely make out Landon's flickering form. He was coming, or had been. Please, dear God, if there even is a God, don't be dead. "I don't know what you're talking about. I belong to the ship, not the other way around." She shrugged, offering an expression that simply read of her apologies.

"If I'm not get to be dead, then why am I here? Certainly you can find better looking, easier trained pets." Her injured throat burned as she forced herself to speak. This much control, this much of a grasp on her own psyche, hurt. Damn the drugs. The pain. Damn them. She looked again to Andrea.

Andrea shrugged and twirled a finger at her temple, poking her tongue out and crossing her eyes.

"You are here so our government cannot ignore us anymore. You are here so they understand. So you see what we are," he gestured, as if that made all the sense in the world. "So you stop it."

"How?" Rochelle asked, shooting a pointed look towards Andrea. At least Landon was behaving himself, making it easier on her to communicate and try and work given her hazy state of affairs.

Neyes was right next to her now. "Just tell him what he wants to hear..." Concern crept into his voice. "Buy some time."

"Pff, forget time," Andrea bristled and pulled a bag of popcorn from thin air, plopping a few into her mouth, "ask him about his plan," she munched, twirling her finger in a "go on" gesture.

Rochelle swallowed hard at the worried sound of Landon’s voice creeping into her ears, especially when it coupled with Andrea’s malcontent as she spurred her psyche onwards, forwards, refusing to accept her hesitation.

"You and your stars fleet help our government, but our government lies to you, as they do to everyone else. Even our families," he paused for a split second, then looked at Rochelle square in the eyes with a gaze that was almost sane again. "We have families. Wives and children and brothers and sisters. Our government told them we are dead, and they believe, while we are here," he gestured, frustration creeping into his voice again, "we worked for them for years, and they abandoned us. And now you," he pointed at her accusingly, "you come here, and play their game."

“Hardly.” She replied, nearly scoffing at the thought, “Your government asked to join us and we simply were ordered to come here to check out the planet and an energy source they claimed they have. So far we’ve been attacked by wild animals and told our women are inferior beings. Hardly reason for us to play their so called game.” Rochelle postured, rolling her wrist flippantly, “kidnapping me wasn’t the way to earn respect or help, sir, it’s a good way to earn a war your people can’t fight.” She leveled with him, the haze disappearing momentarily as ice cold, savage eyes locked with the crazy voids of her captor.

Rochelle was a fearless creature, staring down death was nothing new for her – In fact she often dabbled in it like a bird in a puddle after a storm, flitting about happy as can be. “Return me to the crew, let me inform them of what’s going on so that we can better make a difference by confronting your government. That’s the only way this is going to end well.” At another point, in another life, she’d have felt sorry for them. But here and now, cold and confused, Rochelle was eager to head home and be allowed to gather her thoughts before proceeding.

"Energy source!" He boomed, angry, "We are the energy source! We," he gestured around angrily, "we are the damned energy source. We've mined it for years, obediently, while our government knew what it would do to us." He shook his head, "what it would turn us into. They didn't care. When we get sick, they abandon us, leaving us behind to fend to ourselves, to abandon our families, to eat one another, all the while they deny us the cure!"

The Commander stiffened at the sound of his booming voice and quickly sidestepped to a location better suited for countering combat if she needed to. The rocks behind her, the loose shale ledge she’d sat on, all made her nervous. She’d been cut and injured enough, and now on depleted energy reserves she knew she’d have to be smart and quick should something happen, if she were to overpower him. “I get you are the source of the mined energy. I understand, but housing me here and…” She paused, eat themselves?

Rochelle’s eyes flashed in warning and surprise as she immediately shot glances both to Andrea and Landon. Horror crossed her pretty features, draining whatever color was left from her face, “Wait… What did you say? Eat one another?” She asked, her head tilting and eyes narrowing ever so slightly as she demanded answer.

"Now we're getting somewhere!" Andrea hooted and tossed imaginary popcorn at the big man. One piece landed on his head, teetered momentarily, fell and got stuck in his beard.

"They made us sick," he nodded, oblivious to the imaginary white piece stuck to his dirty beard, flickers of shame filling his eyes. "We have no choice, it's what they made us." He gestured at the bowl on the floor, as if it was an obvious answer, "it's what they made you."

Sick.

The words echoed in her mind as she continued to blanch and desperate look between Landon and Andrea. Her stomach churned, her knees began to shake and her mouth suddenly filled with saliva. Rochelle was going to puke. The bowl caught her attentioned as he gestured to it, and staring at it, "I... You..." she finally lost her composure. Her knees hit the rocks as she doubled over, scraping them and promising bruises to the already damaged bursa laying just beneath the surface of the skin. But that was the least of her concern. She vomited, tears filling her eyes out of shame, disgust and effort as she did so.

"You fed me people?" She gagged and gasped, heaving oxygen into her lungs as she stared up at the miner with hurt and horror, anger and anguish filling her turbulent eyes.


To be Continued...


Apparition of: Captain Landon Neyes
Commanding Officer
USS VINDICATOR

Commander Rochelle Ivanova
Executive Officer
USS VINDICATOR

Apparition of: Commodore Andrea Levine (apb Moo)
Starfleet Academy professor
Former CO; USS GRIFFIN

Noturan Captor (apb Moo)

 

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