A/N: Another story from me and this one is going to be my biggest challenge ever!
His name is Volt. He's of the Meekrob species. He was a soldier in the military when the Irken's attacked. What happens in the two weeks when this story takes place would scar him forever. [WARNING] This is a Torture fic, and will be gruesome.
This is what happens when you don't give the Irkens what they want.
x
x
x
x
x
Day 1
It was a simple mission. Go in under the cover of the cover of a solar flare; find any survivors in the decimated town, and get them to the hidden city; a cut and dry mission that my team had pulled off over 10 times in the past month since the arrival of the Irken's invasion force.
When the flare started we made our move into the town. Myself along with my second in command Corporal Marl, Lance Corporal Triff and Private Keef, broke off to the south side while the rest of my team headed north. The plan was to rendezvous on the west side. Had I known that my team would never meet, I never would have brought them into that place.
My group had searched 15 homes and 3 shops, while recovering 9 live-lights (military code for living Meekrob individuals) and soiling any supplies we came across that could not be carried with us. Lance Corporal Tiff and Corporal Marl were both carrying an injured live-light, they were waiting outside in a hidden stairwell while Private Keef and I checked out another store we came across.
The shop front door was completely blocked by debris. Keef and I made our way around back where we were able to located a broken window. Keef is a small boy so he was able to float through without touching the broken glass; unfortunately I was not quite as lucky. My lower right tentacle received a scratch along the base; energy loss was minimal considering my large base store. The scratch healed quickly enough. The small fizzle of my healing barely made a blip on my radar.
Once inside I headed to the upper floors while the Keef checked the ground floor.
"Hello!? If you can hear my voice release a 5amp flash!" I called out into the smoke filled hallway as I floated to the first open doorway. The first room was relatively intact. There was a small hole in the wall but the bed along the opposite wall looked completely untouched. Either way, the sight of that bed made my essence shudder. It was a child's bed.
A call came from the stairs as Keef gave the signal for finding someone and clearing the floor; a short 5amp flash followed by a mid-length 7amp burst. Even through the smoke, the light traveled up the stairs to my position. I flashed back 3-7-3, Child-On-Location, then continued on my way down the hall. If he had followed protocol, Keef would have been taking the civilian out to the rest of our group, and as soon as he caught up with me I hissed at him to get back down there.
"I found a father downstairs under the rubble and he's frantic for his child."
"Let me worry about that. Your job right now is to get out anyone you can." I saw Keef's eyes wander to the nearest window. The light from the solar flare was still bright in the sky, blinding anything that wasn't Meekrob native, but we both knew it wouldn't last much longer. "Go now. Tell the others I said to move out. I'll meet you all at the rendezvous point at 1900."
"The flare ends in 10 minutes."
"All the more reason for you and the larger group to clear out."
"But Serge.."
"No buts Private. Grab that live-light and get the hell out of here. GO!" I do not accept hesitation to obey direct orders, and my plan was to remind Keef of that the moment we were clear of that hell hole. The light from the windows dimmed, and my time was running out.
Continuing down the hall, all rooms were empty, I found the last room blocked by a fallen support beam. I threw my shoulder into it but the foolish owner had designed this building to be completely retro, meaning all the doors were solid wood. I knocked on the door, "Hello? Is anyone in there?" There was no response but something was just giving me the feeling that something was in there. With a solid wood door, I determined my only option was to burn through the door.
I removed my base weaponry to avoid causing any chance of malfunctions.
The charge and heat in my upper left tentacle rose as I prepared for a concentraited heat imprint. The risk of catching fire to the door did exist but with the amount of practice I've had, and the construction of the door, I determined the risk to be acceptable. With a charge of 1000amp I fired a point blast into the door. 1000amp may have been a bit higher than necessary but I wanted instant sublimation of the fibers to avoid any chance of fire.
At the point that my blast would have melted through the door, I heard a small scream from inside the room. "Hello? Is someone in there?" There was still no answer but I heard a rustle through the new hole in the door. I thought back to the child's room and remembered the decorated name plate I saw on the foot of the bed. "Kally? Sweetie? You in there?" Finally I got an answer.
"Daddy?"
"No I'm not your daddy. But I know where he is." A calm voice is the most important thing when working with any scared civilian, especially kids. "Now I'm going to make a hole in this door so I need you to stand back." The light of the flare dimmed another level; only five minutes left. The ceiling above creaked and dust sprinkled to the floor.
"I'm scared. It smells in here and I can't see."
"It's going to be alright okay Kally? I just need you to float back from the door. Okay? … Are you clear?" the response was muffled. It was a relief to know the kid was staying calm.
I brought the charge in my tentacle up and continued burning through the door. It was another minute before the hole was big enough for the child to get through, and she came flying through the smoke. She blasted out of that hole so fast I barely had time to react. I lifted my tentacle to avoid hitting her. My point burst only had a split second pointing at the ceiling but that was apparently all it took.
I take full responsibility for the events that occurred next. I should have paid attention to the child when she said that the room smelled strange.
My point burst cut through a gas line on the ceiling, which had already been leaking into the closet where the child was hiding. The gas ignited and the explosion blew the entire room apart. I and the child were blasted through the wall. The front of the explosion hit my face and the child's back.
It was my responsibility to get the child out safely, and I failed. The pain on my face erupted from the flames. The healing couldn't keep up, and I lost consciousness.
/ / / / / / / / / /
I don't know how much time passed before I next became aware. My body was heavy and I didn't dare open my eyes. Not with the words I heard.
"You think smelling salts work on these guys?"…One voice, my translator kicked in; they were speaking Irken.
"Worth a shot. Everything tied down there?" …Two…
"Double check that side for me but everything's set up here." …Three…
I heard the second voice speak again. "One sec." The pressure on my left side increased. "You ever seen one of them this color before Char?"
"These things come in all sorts of colors." So the first voice is Char? Something sharp slammed into my head and a jolt of pain shot down my spine. I was aware of the involuntary spasm of my limbs but couldn't stop it.
"WATCH IT! We need it alive!" A fourth voice…
"Chill Rent. It takes more than a bump on the head to take out one of them." The third voice responded to the fourth, Rent, in a joking way but the tone led me to believe that it was Rent who was in charge.
"You watch your mouth Private Krip." Krip is the third voice. Only a Private but even the low ranking Irkens are sadistic and troublesome. "If you cause us to lose the chance to find their haven then it will be your PAK not mine."
Krip knew this was no idle threat, "Yes, sir."
"Char, give Squeech that packet and let's wake this thing up."
"No need… I'm already awake." Never show the enemy that you're scared. I was tied down and there was no way out by force right now. Not till I get some information out of them. I was hoping to make them think I was totally helpless. Irkens are smart when it comes to tech and waging war, but they don't care to know the strengths of other species; which was my advantage. I opened my eyes slowly
"Told'ja it wasn't gonna die."
"Shut it, Krip." Rent barked.
"Yeah Krip, shut it." My voice cracked and I was given a sharp shock from whatever machine they had hooked to my head, but the comment was worth it to get one of them off balance. Krip made a lunge at me but Rent stopped him with a word. The pain wasn't that bad, just enough to make my neck feel numb. When it stopped I took a chance to look around for the first time.
We were deep inside the obvious purple walls of an Irken base. The four Irkens were obviously all male.
Krip looked to be 4'2" in height. Average shade green skin, with magenta eyes boardering on red. His antenna hooked up behind his head and came out with a Vortian horn hook. He wore a black shirt with line up the center of his chest connecting to a high neck collar that matched the shade of his eyes. He wore the usual black gloves and boots of an Irken soldier; the boots just covering the bottom of his pants. A cord wrapped around the side of his head, what it was for I never discovered.
The one standing closest to me held a pouch of what I could tell was the smelling salts they had planned to wake me with, so I made the correct assumption that this one was Squeech. He was much shorter than the others, around 3'5". His skin was the same shade as Krip, and his eyes were covered by a thick pair of goggles with green glass and his antennae crooked forward hanging down in front of his face. It was hard to tell with the goggles but I thought for a moment he looked sorry that I was awake. He wore a black shirt and a white lab coat. My guess... he's the medic for the group.
The one called Rent was simple to pick out of the remaining two. He stood tallest at around 4'5" and had an overall commanding presence about him. His skin was a light green with dark green eyes; or one of his eyes was green. The other eye was covered with some sort of eye patch that glowed an eerie red in the center. His antennae were the average single downward crook of a male Irken. His armor consisted of a chest plate and shoulder guards; a belt stretching across his chest held a large laser gun in place. His black pants reached down to the ankle of his boots.
This meant that the meaty looking one, with all the muscles, was Char. He was shorter than Rent and Krip but taller than Squeech, around 3'11". His skin was a dark green while his eyes were then average Irken magenta, more towards the pink side than Krip, while his antennae matched Rent's single crook. He wore a dark colored shirt that appeared to be stained with blood, which I assumed was not his own. A large satchel hung down across his shoulder and on his waist. I saw a glint of metal when he opened it for a split second. When he noticed my stare he smirked and secured the bag.
Squeech stepped forward and pressed some needle into the side of my arm. I struggled a bit but it did no good. The machine they had me hooked into had a negative current pulsing through the straps. There was no easy way for me to get out.
"If you think you're getting away then you're dumber than you look," Krip leaned back against a wall next to the plasma screen of a large computer.
"And if you think that means I'll quit trying then you're more ignorant than you look."
Krip opened his mouth to say something but Rent glared him into silence. The commanding officer then turned his gaze to me. "All we want to know is the location of your safehouse."
"And you really think I'd tell you?" A shock ran down my body as if every pain nerve activated at once, like a thousand needles driven into me, but as soon as it started it was over. I forced my breathing rate down but I could feel my limbs shaking. Looking around, Char was smirking, his hand on a dial.
"Yes Meekrob I do think you'll tell us, if you want to live."
I released three 6amp flashes for my response. I'm guessing their Irken PAK translated what it meant because Krip started laughing.
"He's got one hell of a mouth. Why not let me shut him up Serge?"
Rent nodded his head toward Char again. The pain was no worse this time, however it lasted longer. It may have only been a few seconds but I felt like my skin was being torn away. Some of my energy drained away as my body attempted to heal. Now I was really shaking.
"Where is the safe house?"
"…Go dive in some dookie." Again. Thousands of flaming hot needles digging into my skin and being twisted around in my flesh, then it stopped. I could hardly breathe and I felt sick. I couldn't stop shaking.
"Where is the safe house?"
"You know… you're gonna start sounding like a broken record." Again. Again. Again. Lasting for longer and longer intervals. Desperately holding in any screams I wanted to make, I felt like I was being burned alive. Red hot burning nails driving into my hands, legs, tentacles, and head, pressing down into me between my nerves twisting up my spine and bombarding my mind with electrical signals. The healing couldn't keep up with the scorching of my flesh and I blacked out.
When I came to, Squeech was standing over me with the bag of smelling salts. I was dizzy but could still pick up Rent's voice.
"Give up now, and save yourself the pain."
"Kill me."
"What's the rush?" Krip asked. "You'll be in the same state as your little friend soon enough."
"What friend?"
Krip laughed, "the kid we found you with."
My essence boiled and I struggled against my bonds. "WHERE IS SHE!" This time I added 2000amps behind my struggles, attempting to melt my way out, but it was invain because not only were those 2000amps absorbed by the straps, the machine continued drawing energy out of me. I quickly cut off my energy pouches, before they could try and drain me completely. With the way things looked. I would need that energy for healing if I ever hoped to get out of there.
No one said anything till my struggles ceased.
"The child was dead when we found you. The explosion nearly killed my team but if it hadn't happened we might never have caught you."
"De…dead…" I was in shock. The child had died and I was captured and both were completely my fault. I had promised her and she had trusted me. Keef and her father… they had trusted me… I hung my head saying a prayer for them and for myself. What other hope did I have of escaping now?
The purpose of torture is to break the spirit, to bring your captive to the point that they will say or do anything just to have the relief of death. There are two methods of torture; Physical… and mental. Without knowing what happened to the rest of my team, they had both methods to use on me. Krip laughed from the back and Char released another shot of pain, this one so long that I passed out again immediately afterwards. As my vision faded I could hear the voice of Kally telling me she was scared, and how dark it was where she was at.
That was the beginning of two, long, painful weeks in hell.
