AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey all! I'm finally forcing myself to start and finish a multi-chapter fic by uploading the first chapter. I usually have one or two ideas for them floating around, but I usually abandon them to some degree and they turn into one-shots, but not this time!
This chapter may be edited later on as in re-reading it, I found it very exposition-heavy. Let me know what you think, and beware, this story does feature an OC. I'm trying to keep the character pretty subtle (especially after this chapter), so let me know if you feel they're starting to sound a little obnoxious. Reviews are very appreciated! I hope you enjoy!
Sitting in the Dark
Zapp stumbled along down the dark corridor, hurried along by his captors. He struggled against his ties and winced as he felt a strong hand twist the razor-like ropes around his wrists. The rough jostling of the journey after his capture had rubbed the tender flesh raw.
"I don't know what you want, but I can assure you, the DOOP will be willing to-" His plea was cut short by a hard strike to the back of his head.
"Quiet." The cold voice punctuated his order with a jerk of the arm, jarring the captain's already aching shoulders with pain. He struggled to keep his footing as his bare feet slipped around on the wet floor. Thanks to the lack of light, he couldn't see what it was he was being dragged through, but he could smell it. The stench curled his nose hairs and burned his throat as he heaved breaths. It smelled of death.
They approached the end of the passage; in the dim light escaping the door, he could see that the hall was lined with rooms, probably more cells. They appeared to be empty. He craned his head to peek into a small window as he passed, but nothing but darkness escaped the chamber. As they reached the door at the end, Zapp was shunted inside. He lost his footing and hit the ground hard, hearing an uncomfortable popping sound in his shoulder followed by white hot pain. Grunting, he rolled onto his stomach to alleviate the pressure, but felt a hand grasp his injured arm and yank sharply upwards. In spite of himself, Zapp cried out; the pain blanked his mind for a moment, but he was brought sharply back to the present by another strike with the nightstick.
"On your knees," he heard the low voice say. He complied, pulling his sore knees underneath him to support his weight as best he could. The more he could do to take the strain off his shoulder, the better. He was starting to feel a numbness, a tingling sensation in his hand; he tried moving it about, but the feeling wasn't going away and the angry skin on his wrist protested the movement. The hand around his arm let go and found itself a grip in his sweaty mop of hair, wrenching his head upward to see a new face in the room. It was another man, about his height, wearing a look of disdain as he regarded his prisoner. His thinning hair was flecked with silver at the temples and he bore a hard face. He appeared to be dressed in military garb, but not the olive drab Zapp was used to seeing. Gray hues hinted at the possibility of the man being a pilot, but that still didn't tell the bedraggled captain anything about why he was standing before him with a collapsed baton wrapped in scarred white knuckles. A moment of silence passed between them.
"What do you wa-" Zapp didn't even hear the baton unsheathe before it crashed hard against his cheek, sending him reeling.
"You'll speak when spoken to, monster," the man said evenly, glowering at his prisoner. Zapp struggled to keep the world from spinning about him, focusing on the cold features of his abductor. He could taste blood in his mouth. Ignoring the oncoming headache, he swallowed and forced himself to appear attentive. "Do you know why you're here?" Zapp shook his head, but his eyes didn't leave those of the stranger.
"My name is Dr. Walter Ellicott. I'm an anthropologist." Zapp did his best to keep his confusion hidden. "I work with various scientists in this arm of the galaxy to help reconstruct fossils of ancient civilizations," he explained as he folded his hands, "I'm originally from Earth, like you. However, since I was young I sought adventure and travel amongst the stars, so I entered the thrilling field of xenoanthropology. I study extraterrestrial cultures," he appended at the look of confusion on Brannigan's face, "It was through my work that I started my family." Zapp swallowed heavily again, but the coppery taste remained. His head had begun throbbing painfully; he could feel the pressure building behind his eyes. He didn't particularly care to hear the man's life story, but his situation wasn't exactly conducive to protests. Searching the stony face before him, Zapp desperately tried to recall if he had previously known this Dr. Ellicott. He was almost certain that he had never met him before, but surely he would remember a face that he had personally wronged.
"You see, I was reporting back to my alma mater on Earth about the progress of a colony that had terraformed a planet in the Centauri system when I met Ruth. She was an inhabitant of the planet, and strictly speaking, we weren't supposed to fraternize with the local populations, but it wasn't hard to see that she was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. It wasn't a year later that we were married and I decided to settle down with her on Eden 7." The captain's shallow breath hitched in his throat. "It was a diplomatic colony, and it seemed as though it would be a perfect society in which to raise a family." Ellicott's expression turned bitter. "I even convinced my parents to move there with me so they could enjoy the rest of their lives in a supportive community.
"Soon, Ruth fell pregnant and our beautiful baby girl was born. Her name was Leann." He stared hard at Brannigan, who fought the urge to lower his gaze. "We lived happily together for six years. I continued my work, spending more time than I would have liked off-planet. Occasionally I would even take my family on a trip with me so they could see what I did for a living, the kinds of folks I met on my travels within the galaxy. I was on one such trip with my daughter to Aquarius 12." Ellicott became very quiet. "Do you know what happened while we were on Aquarius 12, monster?" Zapp's mouth dropped open, but he couldn't think of anything to say that he was sure wouldn't elicit another blow from the steel baton, so he closed it again. There was no right answer, and he knew what was coming. Ellicott did not take his silence as the apologetic submission it was meant to be; the anthropologist drove his boot into Zapp's abdomen. The captain doubled over as far as he could with the minion's fist woven tightly into his hair, coughing painfully. "Do you know what happened on while we were on Aquarius 12?" Ellicott demanded again. The baton struck Zapp in the jaw and he collapsed to the concrete, the subordinate's grip on him released. Blood filled his mouth as he tried to rise to his knees again; it spilled out in strings of sticky red saliva, staining the floor below him. Something hard rolled over his tongue; he spat out the broken enamel, now stained a deep scarlet. "I'll tell you what happened; your government ordered the destruction of the Eden 7 colony." Zapp could barely hear Ellicott over the pounding in his ears. "You murdered a civilization that posed no threat to you."
"Now listen," Zapp slurred, his patriotism overruling his sense of self-preservation, "We were preventing them from spreading their hippie commun-" Ellicott suspended the added pain of the steel baton for the satisfaction of striking the captain with his own hand.
"Eden 7 wasn't interested in influencing anyone outside of itself!" he roared, "We had no intention of subjecting others to our ideology. Not like you." The anthropologist forced Zapp's chin upward with the baton tip. "People like you are a disgrace to humanity. You are nothing but a common killer and you enjoy every moment of it. You have taken my life, my family, even my planet from me. I intend to return the favor." Zapp's insides turned icy. "Lock him up," Ellicott directed.
"Wait, it wasn't my fault! I was just following orders!" the captain appealed, but his pleas were ignored. Ellicott was gone and he was pulled to his feet. "Surely you can understand that?" He was panicking now. Was this really how it was going to end? 'Beaten to death by vindictive hippies' was certainly not on his list of expected deaths, let alone his preferred ones. He had to find a way out. As rough hands shoved Zapp back the way they came in, he struggled with his captors. Crashing one between himself and the doorframe, he wrenched himself free. Pain shot up and down his arm, and he yelled in agony, but he was through the doorway and bolting down the hall. His feet splashed through the filth as they pounded the concrete. He didn't really have a plan for what happened once he reached the end of the passage, but at least he had bought himself some time to think. Unfortunately, the muck was slicker than he anticipated; an ill-placed step pulled his feet out from under him and his chin crashed hard on the ground. He made a futile effort to scramble to his feet, hindered by his hands bound behind him. It was no use; the henchmen were upon him again and he felt a sharp pinch in his neck. They pinned him down and as he struggled, the world grew hazy.