PL | Capt Landon Neyes | "Safe and Sound"

Posted on Wed Oct 29th, 2014 @ 8:29am by Commander Tristan Neyes PhD.

823 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: All Hallows’
Location: Unknown
Timeline: Five Months Ago

=/\= Five months ago... =/\=

The captain inhaled the cool air in the ready room, standing regally in the center. Standing there alone in his own personal space, ready to take command of the USS Vindicator for the first time, Neyes carefully weighed the new burden of the word 'Captain'. The ship felt larger, and more alive with the realities of those around him. She was home to so many, and now every whir and vibration spoke to him. Never before had he felt so aware of the edges of his own person. The curve of his uniform seemed to vibrate his demeanor; knowing that meant he had to keep his chin up and his shoulders back. Even then in the solitude of that room, the crew was still speaking to him. Their needs were his, and thus his needs were theirs.

Landon looked out toward the Earth Spacedock mooring holding the massive Vindicator, and his eyes trailed the shuttles and pods making their daily routes around his ship. His ship. Had anyone asked him if he'd ever wanted to command a starship, the answer would have been a swift and rugged 'no'. There were too many layers of red tape, and too many admirals to answer to. He was a Neyes, and a man ready to cast his life to the tempestuous winds of the galaxy; he longed to peer into the unknown. How dare anyone suggest he set roots into a command with rigid structure and ruling principles...

He softly walked the length of the solid wooden desk, and felt the slick glossy edges. The tips of his strong fingers scrolling the sinewy wooden textures. “It's you and me, Vindi.”

Lowering his voice to a whisper, as if anyone would hear, “I still think you're a brick.” He smiled, casting a sidelong glance into the room.

“Gods help me see this through.”

… …

“They aren't listening.” A distant voice whispered to him, menacing in the dark.

Like razors and ice, the water tore its way down into his belly. He gasped and struggled to open his eyes, trying to regain a sense of where he was. The striking bite of the frigid water cascaded down his naked form, and he choked on the liquid before forcing his lungs to steal a sharp breath from the stagnant air in the room. It filled his lungs with a putrid smog, and he immediately coughed it back out. Just one dream... he just wanted to get far enough to see them. His crew never managed to find their way in.

Now he clung to the hope they'd find their way without him.

“You know,” Landon coughed, “sonic showers are so much more effective.

“Who are you? What am I doing here?” Neyes asked, his voice becoming solid and bitterly resistant. He was talking into the dark, because light was something he experienced sparingly now. His captors seemed keen on depriving him of it. When he'd first realized he'd been captured, after waking up in this room, no one came inside for a week straight. Only food appeared by way of a replicator pad with no controls. Thinking they had made a fatal error in providing him a means to access their systems, he tried to open the panel... and woke up hours later to find he'd been electrocuted by a security field.

The dark form continued to circle the chair where Neyes was chained, unfazed by the sarcastic wit of the man. Literally, the chains were made from the finest tritanium alloys, and continued to shine brilliantly despite the blood and water constantly dripping from their metal finish. They tightened, pressing against the muscular flesh of the Trill captain as he struggled against them. The form's dark eyes betrayed the satisfied smile at seeing the man writhe in frustration in his captivity.

“Do you like them?” The whisper continued, “They're made from a piece of your vessel. I picked it out of the wreckage myself.”

The chair nearly tore from the deck plating as Landon roared in fury, shaking the structure of the stationary seat to its foundation. His breathing was quick, and sweat rolled from his brow as the thought of losing Vindicator came to him again. It took his strength and focus to regain control, and slowly he forced himself to calm the desperately frayed nerves exposed after his capture.

Landon scoffed, rolling his eyes, “You go to so much trouble, kidnapping a Captain, fabricating proof his ship was destroyed. You strip me, poke me, whisper at me...

“For what? To tell me I'm all alone?” He looked down at his own body and wormed back up into the seat of his chair. “And if this is what you wanted, I guarantee there are better ways to ask.”

The man circled the room around Landon once more. “You will break... and I will be here when you do.”

=/\= TBC... =/\=

 

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