Caedan "Groove" Nkai - A Dangerous Game

[Doz Finch]

Finally getting around to sharing this one - I always look forward to a sim by Caedan! Every character in Quinn's menagerie stands out, is distinct, and with Nkai's telepathy we always get an exciting insight into how he views people and the world around him and the descriptions I love everytime. @Quinn Reynolds

 

For anyone unsure, the Gorkon is currently in "Skarbek" mode, which means that our characters are... slightly (or very) different, and members of the passionate Maquis.

 

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((Senate Room, Council Building, Maingard District, Witherington, Indre III))

 

Strung up like the latest trophy in the hunt, feet barely touching the floor, every muscle, sinew, and bone in Caedan’s body ached. It didn’t help that similar pain echoed through the other two minds in the group—Genkos, another telepath, and Erin, an empath—reflecting their pain and fear through one another like mirrors. 

 

The door creaked open, a traditional hinged and wood design, the pivots fouled by the dust constantly billowing through the city. Perfume, floral and heady, billowed through in advance of the new arrival. Recognition shot through Erin, though Caedan couldn’t tell if it was the scent or the person she knew.

 

Lurking on the edge of the shadows was a woman bearing the rank insignia of a Glinn. She was striking, but the ugliness of her mind ruined any appreciation he might have held for her physical beauty. It was like drinking poison; bitter and scorching, a taste like acid in his veins. 

 

The woman sighed, and giggled, and the Rodulan felt his stomach churn. Many interrogators were businesslike in their work; it was their job, and the satisfaction was in the outcome, not the process. He had the distinct feeling this one was less interested in the information she could get than the suffering she could inflict along the way.  

 

Palnin: It’s Bajoran lilac. Smells divine, doesn’t it?

 

Erin’s brow twitched with an objection, though she said nothing. ‘Kos was not so inclined. He spat a retort, the way a snake would spit venom. And why not? It wasn’t as though their situation could get much worse. Whatever they said or did, however compliant or resistant they were, they were in for a bad time. 

 

Caedan Nkai. Winner of Understatement of the Year. 

 

Sim: Does divine mean something different where you come from? Smells like throw-up to me.

 

Palnin: On the contrary, I relish in introductions, though I don’t normally have to do my own where I come from—::she stepped out of the shadows::—my reputation usually precedes me.

 

Gloved fingers toyed with the metallic collar of her uniform, satisfaction pouring out in sickly waves of burnt sugar. But she wasn’t a fool. Caedan could sense a sharp mind under the toxic wasteland of her personality; evaluating, calculating, planning.

 

Sim: You’ll have to narrow it down… you see, you all look the same. 

 

Palnin: Glinn Palnin. I’m the reason you’re all still in clothes. We can be callous, maybe even a little coarse, but we’re not monsters. 

 

While ‘Kos exhaled a joyless laugh, Palnin’s tongue flicked at the corner of her mouth. Few Cardassians thought of themselves as monsters. As far as they were concerned, it was simply the superior race treating others with the respect they’d earned. 

 

Which was none, of course.

 

Sim: Agree to disagree there.

 

E. Reynolds: ::Quietly,:: There’s a lot of dead and grieving colonists who’d argue otherwise. 

 

Palnin: Response

 

While Kos lifted his head to skewer the Cardassian woman with a dark glare, pain continued to dig its claws into the muscles of Caedan’s arm and shoulders, relentless and without reprieve. His thoughts went to his friends on the Fourcade, and wondered if they received the message he’d sent and weren’t doing anything foolish. To Jo, whether she knew the Cardassians had Erin, and what state she was in if she did. To Valesha, hoping she’d stay safe on whatever mystery mission she was on. To Rob and Chris back on Peshkova, and the tiny little girl he considered family.

 

Sim: You might as well get on with it; kill us.

 

Palnin: Response

 

Nkai: What are you hoping to get here? ::He squinted at her with his featureless dark eyes.:: You’ve got to know by now that we don’t centralise information. Even if we break, you’re only going to get scraps. And scraps that become useless as soon as people realise you have us.

 

Sim/Palnin: Response

 

As he listened, Caedan entertained a reckless thought. It was a dangerous game to play, especially since they had no guarantee of actually getting out of the situation alive. But they had not one, but two telepaths in their number—and they were being interrogated by a Glinn. Few other people on the planet would be as close to the Prefect, and the Prefect’s knowledge and plans, as she was. 

 

Could they make her arrogance play in their favour?

 

Was anyone coming for them, even if they could?

 

Nkai: I don’t know what to tell you. ::He grimaced, sucking in a breath as a stab of pain lanced through his biceps.:: Other than your own people are more likely to screw you over here than we are. You must have wondered why the garrison is so small for a colony of this size. We sure did.

 

Sim/Palnin: Response

 

Edited March 13, 2023 by Doz Finch