Breaking Point: Part 1
Written by: ACE
Planet Heracles, of the Orion system. Plenty of asteroids to hide a Rebel base and so they did. The rebels might have low supplies compared to the United Front but they're pretty damn smart and don't have as many paper pushers lousing things up.
They managed to capture a Marine Recon soldier who was part of a unit that flew by the planet. The rebels stormed the tiny space ship and killed all but one. His name was Lieutenant Colonel Jason Lynch. He was in charge of the squad. They stripped him of his gear and tied him to a chair in the middle of a room with the traditional light above his head.
"What were you doing out there and where are you supposed to report to once you were finished?" said a deep, commanding voice.
"Lieutenant Colonel Jason Lynch. Serial number 22287. United Front Marine Corps." was the determined reply.
A snicker could be heard and the quiet steps of a very controlled yet demented man could be heard echoing in the room.
"I know how you were trained Colonel. I used to be a leatherneck myself before they had a chance to completely brainwash me. So don't go thinking that I'm slightly bit impressed at your silence. We have ways of making you talk Colonel." The man said.
"Heh what are you going to do? Make me listen to your bad speeches you fucking deserter?" said Lynch with a slight chuckle.
Out of nowhere a fist slams into the side of the Colonel's head and two punches to the stomach followed by another to the face. His breath gave way and could barely breathe. He tried to suck in air but managed to do so only with extreme difficulty. After what seemed like an eternity his breath returned and he spit out the blood from his mouth. With all the strength he could manage he opened his mouth and repeated his message, sounding out every syllable.
"Lieutenant Colonel Jason Lynch. Serial number 22287. United Front Marine Corps." He repeated.
A sigh could be heard.
"Tie his head." The man instructed somebody else inside the room.
Out of the darkness popped out a set of hands that tied his head to the back of the chair. The Colonel tried to struggle but only managed to get a snicker out of the Rebel leader.
Lynch caught the glistening of a metallic object. It was the sharp blade of a combat knife. It moved ever so closer to his face. He struggled but couldn't do anything. He felt hands grab at the side of his head to keep him still. The knife continued its short trek towards him. The hand guided the knife to Lynch's right eye. He closed it but he knew it wouldn't do anything.
The knife pierced his skin and split his eyelid in 2. His eye was closed but he could see through the bloody curtain over his eye. He could feel the wetness of his blood mixed in with tears slide down his face like a waterfall. After several deep breaths he shouted at the top of his lungs.
"LIEUTENANT COLONEL JASON LYNCH! SERIAL NUMBER 22287! UNITED FRONT MARINE CORPS!" The Marine yelled.
The man in the background let out a slight snicker.
"Tsk tsk tsk. I guess they don't teach you the meaning of pain during boot camp do they. The way it can increase with the simple push of a finger." He said.
The man reached out and put his finger into Lynch's eye. He screamed in pain but that only made the rebel leader, who finally placed his face in the light, only more insane. He was a man around his forties; an obvious military man. His face carried the scar of a warrior; A scratch down from his right cheek to his ear.
The salt and pepper hair gave away his inability to control time yet his rough beard revealed the man's roughness. The look in his eye would make any psychologist worry.
The screams of the Colonel only made him crazier. He grabbed hold of the left half of Lynch's eyelid and ripped it off with a quick jerk of the hand.
"aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh arggggggggg GODAMNIT YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THAT YOU SON OF A BITCH. WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE I'LL MAKE YOU WISH YOU WERE NEVER..."
The rebel punched the Colonel dead in the stomach. He took the combat knife and jammed it in the Marine's left thigh.
"ahhh *cough* rrraaaaaa"
"LIEUTENANT COLONEL JASON LYNCH !!! SERIAL NUMBER 22287!!! UNITED FRONT MARINE CORPS!!! THAT'S ALL YOU'RE GETTING OUT OF ME YOU BASTARD!!!!!!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs.
A sigh could be heard then the sharp retreat of the knife from the Colonel's thigh. He began to breathe heavily trying to control himself.
"Fine... bring in the gear." The man said.
The sound of squeaky wheels could be heard. A machine rolled in that looked like an old device used for sound mixing during the old twenty and twenty-first century. The rebel pulled out some wires and a small wooden stick.
He forced the stick sideways in the Colonel's mouth to open his mouth up. He tied the wires around his top and bottom teeth and pushed a button on the machine. A hatch opened up and wires with clasps were pulled out.
The rebel attached two of them to the wires connected to his teeth and two attached to his ears.
"Pull down his pants." He said.
What the fuck?
The Colonel's eyes widened and fright almost made him crack. He then remembered the hundreds of thousands of crew members on the Hephaestus cruiser. He held his thought on all those lives and hoped they'd all live their lives to their fullest so his suffering wouldn't be in vain.
The rebel took two more clips and attached them to his testicles. The Colonel winced as blood began to pour from places where the claps were attached to something besides copper wire - the metal digging ever so slightly in his skin. He knew what was about to happen and realized the machine wasn't for mixing music.
He took out the wooden stick and turned towards the Colonel as if talking with an old friend.
"I'll give you one more chance and then I'll let you go to a nice comfy cell with a nice comfy bed and some food. How does that sound? We'll take these clamps off and we'll be on our merry way. Just tell me... where your main ship is located. That's it. Simple isn't it? We just want to know where to not go.
We stand no chance against an entire cruiser. We want to save our people's lives. You don't want to save the lives of the hundreds of women and children who live here? Is that it? Are you that selfish?"
The Colonel's heart began to beat faster knowing the next words in his mouth will bring him pain.
"Lieutenant Colonel Jason... arghhhhhhhhh AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHH"
The rebel turned the knob half way and every muscle in the Colonel's body began to tighten up. As if he was having one huge bodily charlie horse. He couldn't feel his ears and head much less anything else attached to the machine.
Then the knob was returned to its off position. His body was still shaking from the electricity which still convulsed through his system and his heart beat at an unnatural rate while his eyes started playing colorful tricks on him.
"It will only get worse from here son. Make it easy on yourself and tell us what we want to know." He said.
"Lieu...arhhhhhhhhhhhhhhgggggggggggggggggggg"
His muscles tensed up again at the maximum voltage the machine could produce. He caught the smell of burning flesh. His teeth began to crack and split in half. The roots of every tooth exposed to electricity and air. Pain like he's never felt before. His stomach tightened and his muscles in a constant convulsion like he's never felt before.
He threw up but the rebel didn't ease up. He turned the knob higher then it's maximum allowed and snapped off. The machine began to smoke and the electricity intensified three times fold. The Colonel began to get numb and not feel the pain yet he didn't give in. He knew that if he gave in that he'd die. He wanted the pain. It let him know he was still alive.
Then... the machine sparked and shut off. Murmurs could be heard around the room. Several mixed voices could be heard as if talking in a quiet Library.
"How'd he do that? Who is this guy? Have you ever seen anything like that before? He's still alive. How's that possible? This guy's indestructible."
The Colonel opened his mouth and spoke but made sure not to let his teeth hit each other since the pain without contact was excruciating enough. He had twenty root canals at the same time without his teeth touching each other... His dry lips parted...
"Lieutenant... *cough* Colonel Jason Lynch. *wheeze* Serial number... *deep breath* 2...2...2...87. United Front... Marine... Corps." He said with extreme difficulty
His head hung low. Pain from his ears, testicles, his now smoking thigh wound, the missing eyelid could be felt even though it was missing. Like a ghost making its non-existing presence be felt by reality. He was happy for this pain. He was still alive. He could still annoy these fuckers and at the very least take up their time.
"Hmphhh I'm not impressed. Take him away." The man said.