"Is this really worth it, Doctor?" Koval asked conversationally as the guards stripped Julian of his upper clothes, leaving his bare torso visible. Julian wouldn't let himself show his fear; he was a Starfleet Officer. He wouldn't allow himself to be broken!

Koval stared intently at Julian's face, trying to read his expressions. He picked up the laser scalpel off the tray and moved back to Julian's side. He turned the device on and began a deep incision on Julian's left shoulder. The smell of burning flesh drifted around the room as soon as the tool cut through skin and muscle. Koval moved the scalpel downwards from his shoulder right down to his wrist. Blood came streaming out the wound immediately. It was a precise tool and wouldn't do any permanent damage unless Koval wanted it to, but Julian didn't know that.

Koval turned the scalpel off and looked at the wounded arm with disinterest, before lifting his gaze to Julian's face and leaned forward "But I don't suppose you'll still be in that profession when we no longer have a use for you. Your life's ambition, gone, all for one little secret." There was a look of pain in the Human's eyes. A pain deeper than any scalpel could cut; a pain that came with the loss of one's future. Koval gave a little smirk and started on the right arm, as soon as the laser hit Julian's skin, he cried. Tears leaked down his face as an instrument he had used to save lives was used to torment him. The stench of fresh blood filled the chamber and Julian slowly sank into the black void, unconscious.

XXX

Koval sighed as the Human lost consciousness and went limp. He snapped his fingers at the guards. "You better heal him before he bleeds to death. I still want answers!"

The guards began healing the skin over the wound to prevent blood from escaping. They didn't want to waste their medical tools to fully heal this Human, just heal him enough to prevent death by blood loss. Once the guards had finished their work, one pulled out a hypospray and pressed it to Julian's neck, reviving the doctor.

XXX

When Julian awoke, he was surprised and just a bit disappointed to find he was not dead. Shaking off the morbid feelings, he glanced down at his arms, assuming they'll be a horrific sight, but was confused to see that his arms were no longer cut open. The skin had been healed, but underneath torn tissue ached. It was a duller pain than the cuts had been, but hurt just as bad.

"Ah, Doctor, glad to see you're with us." Koval greeted him with a sinister smirk. "Do you have an answer for me?" Julian rebelliously didn't respond. He just stared in front of him.

"I thought not," Koval said casually. "We were prepared for that eventuality." He reached once again to the cart of horrors and Julian tried to fight the fear that had encompassed his existence.

"Starfleet isn't coming for you, Doctor." Koval taunted, holding up his newest toy. "No one is."

XXX

Julian's screams echoed throughout the room; it was agony!

When Koval had lifted his latest toy, Julian's heart leaped. He didn't know what it was; his imagination was coming up with a million different possibilities. None of them ended up being the truth.

Koval signalled to the guards, who walked to either side of Julian's head. He felt a contraption lower of his head, preventing him from moving it. He began to speak, trying to reason with the Romulans "Listen to me! I'm just a Starfleet Officer who came here to do a talk, I'm not…" His sentence was cut off as a Romulan guard shoved his fingers in Julian's mouth, prying it open.

His eyes went wide, damn his mouth! Why did he have to speak?!

Julian tried to shut his mouth, but the guard was strong, using two hands to open his mouth as wide as it could go.

Koval lifted up the device, now realising what it was. He had seen a picture of it in a book at the Academy. He tried to struggle even more, but straps suddenly appeared round his chest, stomach and thighs. He was immobile as Koval stalked up to him and held the device just above his mouth.

Julian shut his eyes tight. He didn't want to see Koval's unperturbed face.

He saw the Human shut his eyes and shook his head slowly "Closing your eyes won't do a thing, Doctor." He said as he dropped the device in Julian's mouth.

He felt it slither round his mouth, trying to gain access to his throat. He kept coughing, trying to stop it, but Koval slammed his fist down on Julian's abused hand. He screamed and the mechanical insect crawled down his throat, scratching his insides as it crawled along.

Almost immediately he started screaming, sharp jolts of pain hit him in random places, where the insect was crawling around inside him. He remembered this device.

The Chirat crawled around inside its victim, stabbing tiny holes everywhere it went. In most cases it was used as a last resort, resulting in the victim dying from internal bleeding. But Koval was using it for the sole purpose of inflicting a new kind of pain, one biting at Julian's internal organs.

Koval kept counting in his head, knowing when the Chirat would travel into the Human's abdomen. When the time came, he turned on another device, attracting the Chirat like a magnet.

Julian screamed even more as the insect tore through his abdominal muscles and skin to break out of his body. Blood sprayed out as the device crawled out, leaving Julian's stomach covered in blood.

The guards acted quickly as they repaired the wound, again, not caring for the torn muscle.

Julian fainted as soon as he felt the device cut through his skin. He went limp and Koval picked up the bloody device and turned it off.

Deciding it was time for lunch, he walked out the room, leaving Julian's unconscious form in the room with the guards. "Do what you want," Koval said casually "Only be sure to leave him alive."