The I.S.S. Ramilles was awfully quiet.
As Klome marches through the corridors with stone-cold seriousness, any other Officer that was unlucky enough to catch his eye immediately bolted out of the way, fumbling their Terran salutes in the process.
But Klome didn't care. All he cared about was his target.
Osa Katel, a Lieutenant Commander who tried to kill the Ramilles' Captain, Titan, last night.
Titan told Klome nothing concenring the details of how Osa got in or why he attempted the deed. He just wanted the boy dead.
And Klome was all too happy to oblige.
As Klome turns onto another path, the Vulcan takes out his dagger, twiddiling it between his thumbs.
The two Security Guards flanking him were nervous, uneasy. Then again, any Officer assigned into Klome's jurisdiction returned to his previous duties a nervous wreck.
After all, Klome was known for his adherence to the rules, a low tolerance for failiure...and a hatred of ambition.
Many of the Officers under his care wanted his life, for obvious reasons.
He was the ship's First Officer, He was a Vulcan, and he was powerful.
But all of those qualities just made him stronger.
Klome arrives at his destination: Shuttle Bay Two.
Osa was a cowardly man who used his sex, his knowledge of computers, and his dagger to get his way. A typical Terran.
Klome despised Terrans.
They were too greedy.
Egotistical.
Foolish.
Evil.
Manipulative.
There were a million words he could use to describe this hateful species, but pondering mere words was illogical.
"Should we advance, sir?" The guard to his right asks.
"No." Klome says. "Hide behind two of the cargo crates closest to the door. If he tries to flee, catch him."
Klome moves for a second, stopping for a moment longer.
"No matter what, I want him caught alive." Klome says. "I shall see to his death myself. If either of you kill him before I do, you will join him. Understood?"
Klome finally walks into the room as the two scatter.
The room full of crates and containers was empty.
Klome had taken the precaution of assigning one of his officers on a shuttlecraft mission before coming here.
So, no shuttlecraft.
Osa couldn't escape if he tried.
Klome stands himself in the center of the room, directly on top of the Terran Empire logo that was painted onto the room's white floors. Normally the shuttlecraft would be where he was, but Klom had seen to that.
PTEW! PTEW!
Phaser fire coming from the corridor behind the door.
Osa was coming...and he sounded desperate...Good.
Klome loved it when things were easy.
The doors hiss open as a redshirt looking no more than 13-14 years of age, runs through the door, Phaser in hand.
Terran children were bred to be killers froma very young age. It wasn't surprising to see teenagers working in the Imperial Starfleet.
The boy (Osa) runs closer to Klome, unaware of the Vulcan's prescence, his head facing the door in desperation.
Osa finally turns, and stops short upon seeing Klom standing in his way.
The boy aims his Phaser at the Vulcan, onloy for the Guards that were hidng to point their own devices at him.
"Do not bother...Suicide is illogical." Klome says. "And it's much less fun."
In desperation, Osa starts running back towards the door, his Phaser dropping out of his hand and onto the floor.
The two Guards move in on him, finally managing to pin the boy's arms.
"Computer, secure this room, First Officer's clearance." Klome says. "Code: 8-4-5-6-9."
The doors Osa was heading for lock themselves with a resigning CLICK.
Osa's fate was sealed.
"No, please!" Osa yells.
Klome puts his hands behind his back and walks slowly forward, his prescence growing more forboding with each step.
"Osa Katel. You are accused of treason against the Terran Empire and of the attempted assassination of Captain Ulysses Titan of the I.S.S. Ramilles." Klome says coldly as he continues his slow advance. "Your sentence is death. I shall not wait for final words."
"NO! NO! NO!" Osa yells, struggling fruitlessly against the Guards' hold on him. "NO!"
"Lift up his head...As high as it can go." Klome commands.
The Guards obey, grabbing him by the neck, forcing his head upwards. Each of them hold a portion of Osa's jaw to keep him in that position.
Klome is now standing neck-and-neck with the boy, his eyes narrowed, his back straight. Osa was stunned with fear and desperation. "P-Please, Mister Klome." Osa says. "I-I'll do anything for you! Please! I can be of use to you! Don't kill me, please!"
Terrans never did die respectfully.
Many of them begged for their lives, like this one, promising theuir captors the universe...only to stab them in the back at any given opportunity.
Klome takes his Empire-issued Dagger from the holster on his belt, twiddiling it in his thumbs with a tender eagerness.
"OH NO!" Osa says, entering a struggling fit once again. "PLEASE!"
"Cease your'e begging." Klome says. "Your'e pleas fall on deaf ears."
The evil Vulcan moves the dagger nearby Osa's throat, as if gauging where to slash, his face stone-cold during.
Osa continues to whimper pitifully, knowing what's to come.
Klome contemplates.
A clean slash from the Carotid Artery would ensure death by both Oxygen and blood loss.
But...
Klom moves the dagger to the left of Osa's throat.
It would take longer for Osa to die if he slashed from the left.
And Klome WAS in a sadistic mood.
No.
It was illogical to waste time. There was no gain from it aside from the boy's screams.
Klome moves the dagger back to the right of Osa's throat.
He then places his left hand onto Osa's head in order to balance it...and slashes.
"UGHGHGHKKKKK!" Osa wails, choking and yelling at the same time as the Dagger pierces his throat's skin.
"Do not fight it..." Klome says emotionlessly. "Let it happen naturally..."
Klom slashes slowly, being sure to cut in a straight line from the right side to the left side of the throat.
"AAAAUUGGHH!"
Blood begins to drop and splatter onto the floor in front of Osa as the boy's choking screams begin to die out.
Klome finally removes the dagger, taking his hand off of the boy's head.
Osa's eyes look at Klome's face one more time before the body slumps to the floor, landing in a pool of blood.
It was a rather beautiful sight. One Terran that had finally fallen to it's own sins.
And if Klome became Captain, it would not be the last.
Klome places his Dagger back into it's holster, and then his hands behind his back once more.
"Hurl the body out of an airlock, then clean the blood up." Klome says coldly as he begins to walk towards the room's door. "There will be no Log entries about this. You both are relieved of duty for the remainder of the day."
Klome walks out of the room and back down the corridor, leaving the two Guards to dispose of the mess.
This boy was just a stepping stone in Klome's ideals for change.
Once he earns Captain Titan's good graces...He would be next.