Lt. Commander Whittaker: Agony/Ecstasy (Tags: Khante | FAO: Shuttle Crew)
Michael Meir-Wright
(( Interrogation Room – FMS Krayvet ))
:: There was several seconds of silence as Theo’s cutting insult bored its way into his captor’s psyche. Then came what sounded like a feral scream that filled the entire room with its ferociousness, followed by a backhanded strike so vicious that Theo’s entire head spun to the right, slamming against the metal headrest and dislodging several teeth. Seconds later came to the all-too familiar taste of blood in his mouth. He spat it out, sending several of his loose teeth flying across the floor and landing on the floor several feet away. What didn’t fly from his mouth trickled out of the corner of his lips and down to his jawline. He turned his head back to look at the woman with a visibly pained look on his face. In response she smiled viciously. ::
Khante: I’ll show you second rate, Babyface.
:: Now he replaced the betrayal of his suffering with a determined smile as he looked directly into her eyes and spat his words at her with the same level of ferocity that she had just hit him with. ::
Whittaker: Go on, hit me with your best shot.
:: The woman leaned forward, one hand running down his stomach towards a particularly uncomfortable area while another one reached forward, while the other reached around his throat and gripped it. He felt the force of it against his trachea. His instinct was to squirm to be able to breathe better, but he had already let slip the pain he felt once- to do it again was tantamount to defeat. Then in a display of unrelenting sadism, she licked the blood from his lips before stepping backwards to favour with another stomach churning grin. ::
Khante: OK, how
about a little entertainment while I play with you, sweetie?
::She took a step back and flicked on the monitor. It showed the rest of the away team in the brig as they felt around the walls looking for an escape.::
:: On the one hand, Theo could not help but admire his crew for their determination to break free. On the other, however, he could not but feel a rising tide of panic. The Orion woman was clearly in control of the situation and likely had all manner of technologies at her disposal that could likely make short work of anybody attempting what they were doing. Focusing in on whatever they were doing, Theo realised that the Lady Shadonna was fiddling with something on the wall and was being held in place by Ensign Taelon. He turned his gaze towards the Orion woman, who was busy entering commands into a console. Realising that he too needed to escape, he took the opportunity to get a proper look around at his surroundings while she had her back to him, hoping that something would provide him with an advantage.
The room was largely spartan in its design. Besides the panel that the woman was working on- there was little else of note. He turned his eyes towards to the ceiling, that was punctuated with dull golden beams. It was then he caught specks of orange tints in the corner of several of the beams- including on the one from he was bound to. Rust. Sensing that he had an advantage, he allowed himself to smirk.
A smirk he quickly wiped from his face as the woman turned around. ::
Khante: Oh, it looks like your team is resourceful. ::She smiled evenly, almost appreciatively.:: They've nearly found a way out of the brig. ::she chuckled:: The question is, should I shoot 150 milliampers into the brave souls meddling with the control panel, or would you rather see my guards hunt them down and slaughter them? ::She grinned.::
Whittaker: Or… you could realise who you are dealing with and let us go before the rest of Starbase 118 comes looking for us, finds you and makes damned sure you never harm anybody again.
Khante: Or maybe a nearly fatal shock... see who among them is a doctor and who is a fighter? ::She leaned forward watching his reactions keenly, while tightening his restraints.::
:: Theo fought the rising tide of panic at the thought of Lady Shadonna- who was still meddling with the control panel- being subjected to a near fatal electrical shock. As he silently prayed for her to stop whatever she was doing, he schooled his features into a mask of determination. ::
Khante: Oh, I have it! Let's play the electrical shock lottery! Best of both worlds!
:: He watched in mute and hidden horror as the woman hit the control panel and sent the order to the panel where Lady Shadonna was working. A moment later he watched her crumple to the ground along with Ensign Taelon. Instinct made him want to cry out, but he knew that would another sign of defeat. So as difficult as it was, he kept silent and forced himself to watch was unfolding on the panel without so much as a twitch. ::
Khante: :: placing a hand across her chest. :: Oh oops, :: grinning viciously. :: Better tell my boys to expect company.
Whittaker: :: with a deadly earnest :: Better tell “your boys” to update their wills- because when my people find out what has happened here, they will end you. :: beat :: So what is it to be?
Khante: We watch.
:: She switched the camera controls to focus in on the Starfleet team as they moved. Thankfully Lady Shadonna and Ensign Taelon seemed to have recovered from their electric shock, given that Theo could clearly see the both of them moving with the group. ::
Whittaker: You’re
underestimating them. :: beat :: One day, people will stop doing that when it
comes to Starfleet. :: beat :: I suppose it’s too bad that you
don’t have the intelligence to do so.
:: He smirked at her, goading her once again. In a perverse
way- he was enjoying riling her up even as he knew he teetered on the brink of
life and death. Though she may be a second rate answer to Chennel, she was
still more than capable of ending his life. As many times as he had cheated
death in his short but illustrious Starfleet career, he knew that one day his
luck would run out.
Whether it was to be on this day was still to be decided, even though he knew was veering dangerously towards death.
The Orion struck him once again with similar ferocity to the last time. His head snapped to the right once again and he held it there for a moment before he looked back at her- just as another wave of excruciating distress blossomed across his stomach as she shoved the pain stick roughly against his skin. He could feel consciousness slipping from his grasp but he fought against it, desperate to keep his mind in the moment, to hang on for a few more seconds even as the beautiful agony threatened to overwhelm him. His eyes ached to close, his voice- growing hoarse- wanted nothing but silence, every inch of his body wanted a swift end to this torture. But his mind- that was determined to fight on, determined not to break, determined to show this hateful woman that she was not going win.
And so he forced himself to endure.
Seconds stretched into what felt like minutes until Khante relented and withdrew the painstick. Theo let his head drop forward on to his chest and blood dripped anew from the corners of his mouth. Unconsciousness reared its head once more, creeping at the corners of his psyche waiting for the right chance to strike. Theo let it for a moment, if only to convince his jailer that he was defeated for the moment. His eyes flickered open as she shook him roughly, causing yet more aching. But he said nothing, determined not to let her see through his ruse.
Khante: ?
:: Forcing his mind to remain with him, Theo focused in on the woman’s words even as he ignored them. She shook him roughly several more times and he continued to play ‘dead’. Even through the wracking pain, a plan was formulating and it was the one thing that he clung to. That and seeing Baylen and Mason when he returned to the station. He had seen so little of them of late. And now they were keeping him alive. ::
Khante: ?
:: The room fell silent before the clanking of doors, footsteps and another clanking signalled that he was alone. He remained prone for several seconds, hardly daring to believe in his blind luck. Slowly, he opened his eyes and then looked around the room to make sure he was truly alone. And an instant he was completely alert once more. Knowing that he did not have long, he pushed upwards, lifting his feet from the ground and placing all of his weight into his arms and upper chest. Ignoring the returning floods of pain, he wrapped his hands around the metal rope that held him place and began to tug on it. He looked up at the rusting metal beam, willing it begin to bending and snapping. He increased the force and in a moment of sweet relief, he watched as the beam split apart at the rusty edge. He hit the floor with a thud, and he gasped aloud in shock and in pain.
Marshalling all of his mental strength, he got to his feet, despite the aching of his body. He quickly slid the metal rope off the end and grabbed the end of the pole to use as a weapon. Now he was free- all he had to do was escape.
Whittaker: :: sarcastically. :: oO Should be easy enough. Oo
:: The doors parted for him and he looked both ways down the corridor. There was nobody. He ducked back into the room, forcing himself once more to ignore the protests of his battered body. He looked at the console that the Orion woman had been working at, but understood very little of what she had done- he had never gotten around to learning Orion. He couldn’t so much as say hello, let alone read strings of script. He would just have to take his chance. Turning back to the door, he moved out in to the corridor as fast as he could- but found that he was limping.
Whittaker: oO Oh joy. Oo
:: He had barely gotten 20 meters before he heard a familiar voice. The woman, was walking back towards his location and this time she was not alone. Looking around, he searched for a hiding place. He had no intention of being recaptured so soon after his jailbreak. He saw a ventilation shaft on the floor and knowing he had little other options, dived the floor and slid into it, clutching his makeshift weapon as he did so.
It wasn’t exactly the roomiest place on the ship, it had to be said. The average human male would not have been able to fit into it- but Theo was just that bit smaller than his peers, something he was now immeasurably grateful for the first time in his twenty three and a half years. He waited till footsteps had passed him and decided to make a bid for his freedom using the shaft, which stretched out before him. A wave of tiredness threatened to derail the plan, but he knew he had to move quickly because any second, the Orion would discover that he was not there.
Thirty seconds had not passed before the air was filled with shrill alarms and the voice of the woman over the comm system. ::
Khante: =^=
Whittaker: :: muttering to himself, as he crawled and ignored the pain :: So now all I have to do is find my people and get off this flying deathtrap. :: beat :: Easy enough.
:: And so he crawled. ::
OOC - Shuttle peeps: feel free to have Theo meet up with everyone if you feel like it! :D
--
Executive Officer