round 3 Lt. JG. Alora DeVeau - "Captive Audience"

[Rahman and Rivi Vataix]

((Nygel II aka the Gateway Planet))

DeVeau: Ow.

::Her eyes still refused to focus completely, but they eventually condescended to doing so enough that Alora was able to recognise Rahman.::

Rahman: Ow is right.

DeVeau: Ow infinity.

::Those blasted lights kept wriggling and writhing, which almost made Rahman look as if she had a strange case of dancing Venuvian glow pox.::

DeVeau: Dare I ask where we are?

Rahman: We're on the cavern floor. Commander Ross and Dr. Saveron are above us. I'm not sure about the others.

DeVeau: I was afraid you'd say something like that.

::Her entire body screamed, assaulted in some places by fire, in others by knives. Slowly, Alora made an attempt to sit up and a cry escaped while tears stung her already clouded eyes.::

Rahman: Don't try to move just yet. You took a nasty hit to the head, and I don't have a medical tricorder--or even a regular tricorder--to guess how severe it is.

DeVeau: Lovely.

::She nodded.::

Rahman: The point is, we're alive.

::A blurred hand moved and the chirp of the combadge followed. Her badge. She had a badge. That's right there was a badge. Her fingers fumbled for it and she managed to tap into the conversation.::

Rahman: =/\= Rahman to Commander Ross. Are you and Doctor Saveron all right, sir? =/\=

Ross: =/\= We're alive, if not exactly in one piece. What's your status? =/\=

Rahman: =/\= Lieutenant DeVeau and I are on the cavern floor. We've both sustained injuries--possibly severe. I don't know if we'll be able to reach your location. =/\=

DeVeau: We fell down the hooooole.

::There was a sudden almost irresistible urge to giggle, but at the first attempt to do so, her body complained. Loudly.::

DeVeau: Ow.

Ross: =/\= We'll come down to you. =/\=

Rahman: =/\= Understood. Do you see Lieutenant Zeme or Doctor- =/\=

::Rahman didn't have a chance to finish. As a flash of light was accompanied with the distinct tone of a disrupter rifle, Rahman slumped to the ground. Alora's scream reverberated throughout the cavern walls.::

Pasht-Nos: Quiet!

::Alora's teeth chomped on her tongue and she drew blood, but it kept her from voicing another scream. She winced as he snatched her combadge and proceeded to make the appropriate threats.::

Pasht-Nos: =/\= Commander Ross, is it? =/\=

Ross: =/\= ...that's right. =/\=

Pasht-Nos: =/\= This is Captain Pasht-Nos of the Free Trade Union. I'm going to make this very simple for you today, commander. You're going to repair this Gateway and secure my passage off of this planet... =/\=

::Alora's eyes crossed as they stared down the blackness of the barrel.::

Pasht-Nos: =/\= ...or you're going to have two dead Starfleet officers to beam back up. =/\=

Ross: =/\= That's impossible. Iconion technology is thousands of years in advance of- =/\=

::Impossible was not a word that Pasht-Nos wanted to hear. He stepped back and fired up and past the walkway, showering Ross and the others with hot rocks freed from the cavern walls.::

::Somehow, Alora managed not to scream, but she couldn't help but cringe. The motion sent more fire through her body and she had to bite her tongue again - that time to keep from voicing her pain.::

Pasht-Nos: =/\= This is not a negotiation! The Gateway lies at the center of the network of tunnels. Meet us there, and perhaps you will see your women alive again. =/\=

::He flung the badges on the floor and shot them. They were destroyed and so went any hope of communicating with her colleagues on the ground or in space. That task completed, the man focused on her once more.::

Pasht-Nos: Can you walk?

DeVeau: I don't know. I haven't tried.

::Although she still couldn't focus completely, there was no mistaking the snarling smirk on such a sinister seeming.::

Pasht-Nos: On your own feet or dragged by your hair: either way, we're going. Now!

DeVeau: Okay.

::The best thing she could do was comply. Keep cool. Try not to panic. But panic was what she wanted to do. Her heart pounded furiously against her chest as she tried to order her limbs to comply with her desires.::

::Her left arm refused to move. Dislocated or broken? She couldn't tell and the strange combination of tingling and numbness couldn't be interpreted. The cavern swam as she rose, her motion slow, careful. Her legs complained, particularly her right ankle. It was extremely painful, but she could hobble if she had to - and frankly, she had to. She inhaled deeply, took a step and almost fell. Almost.::

Pasht-Nos: Stop stalling!

::Alora winced and lifted her eyes. Whether she was praying or looking for her friends above wasn't certain and she didn't let her foggy gaze linger.::

Pasht-Nos: ::laughs:: He can't help you now. Let's move!

::She had to focus, had to move had to...nausea gripped her and it took almost everything she had to keep from heaving. Despite her attempt, bile rose to her mouth though she managed to choke it down as she began to hobble while escorted by her captor.::

Lt. JG. Alora DeVeau

Science Officer and Captive

USS Mercury

Edited December 19, 2013 by Rich