Chapter 14 Cold Shoulder
"Wash day, Starbuck. Off with the shirts and pants both," Six said.
Kara's green eyes locked with the Cylon's. "Go to hell."
"Still defying orders, Captain?" Giving a sad shake of her head, Six said, "You will learn to obey. Sooner or later everyone does." She partially turned to the waiting guard and gave a meaningful look back towards Kara. "Shall I have the Centurion remove them for you?"
Glancing at the metal fingers, Kara knew the Cylon guard would shred her clothes with its claws, leaving her with nothing to wear after the skin-job finished with her.
She frakkin' hated giving in to the bitch.
Quelling the desire to knock the tall blonde on her ass, Kara reluctantly pulled first one arm, then the other free, removing the tank tops then cargo pants and tossing the garments into the corner. A brief thought about the remaining two pills in the pocket had her wishing she'd found a hiding spot, but the cell hadn't provided any viable ones. As the chill air brushed her bare skin, she resisted the urge to cross her arms, not wanting the blonde to think she was embarrassed to be seen in only her sports bra and grey briefs.
"Good girl. There's hope for you yet," Six said with a smirk, then gave a wave of her hand and her metal escort marched forward, shackles held in one steel appendage. As the metal cuffs clicked shut on her abraded wrists, Kara heard the sound of the cell door opening and could tell by the heavy tread that another Centurion had entered.
Frak. Now what? she wondered, then gritted her teeth as her aching arms were stretched over her head and locked in place. The first guard moved away and she saw the new one was carrying a length of water hose which it attached to the spigot in the corner. Wash day… Right. She turned her head forward to find the Six observing her closely.
"So much for the Jacuzzi, huh?" Starbuck said, refusing to give the Cylon woman the satisfaction of seeing her dismay. After all, it was just water. Sure, frakkin' cold water, but hey, at least I'll be clean, she tried to tell herself, then gave a mental grimace as the tall blonde picked up the discarded clothes. She suddenly had doubts that she'd be getting them back any time soon.
"You're wardrobe's looking a little worse for wear, Starbuck. Kind of like you." Holding the garments away from her, the Six crinkled her nose in disgust and glanced back at Kara. "What's say I dispose of them for you, hmmm?"
When Starbuck refused to rise to the bait, instead looking resolutely straight ahead, the Six shifted so she stood directly in front of Kara and gave her a once over.
"Or…you could ask nicely and I might leave them here?" The skin-job raised her brows inquiringly, then leaned in a little closer and softly said, "Perhaps I can even get you new ones, warmer ones, if you can…convince me with the sincerity of your request."
"You want me to beg?" Starbuck gave a grim smile and shake of her head. "Not happening, so go play dress up with the other dolls."
"We'll see." Giving a signal, the Six took the hose from her metal counterpart and adjusted the spray nozzle. "Love these things. Very clever idea having different settings to choose from." She twisted the spout's tip. "Let's see what this one does."
Kara braced herself as taller woman raised the nozzle towards her. Water spurted from the end in a thick stream, striking her in the face. Sputtering, she quickly averted her face into her arm, shielding her mouth and nose from the gushing water. As she was drenched from her hair down, Kara started shivering and debated tossing curses at her tormentor as one way to warm up. But that would mean removing her face from the protection of her arm.
She felt the pressure of the water increase as the Cylon fiddled with the settings. The force of the thin spray stung now as it struck. Then the Six was circling her and Kara suddenly gasped as her striped back was pelted by the cold torrent. She involuntarily jerked and twisted, yelling every curse she could summon at the bitch. How the frak her back could burn when the water was so cold, she didn't frakkin' know. It felt like the Cylon had taken a torch to her raw skin.
By the time the Six signaled for the water to be turned off, Kara's voice had gone hoarse. She hung now, chin to chest, with her eyes screwed shut. At least the water hid the tears she hadn't been able to hold back, and she tried to convince herself that she was just gasping for air, not sobbing from the agony.
A hand yanked her head up by the hair but she kept her eyes closed, not wanting to see the Cylon gloating.
"You smell better already, Starbuck," the Six mocked.
Kara barely heard the snide remark; she was concentrating on keeping her jaw locked so the pleading on her tongue wouldn't slip free to betray her. She still couldn't remember what had happened before, but she was damned if she was gonna tell the bitch anything now. She pictured the Admiral looking at her with angry disappointment, then drew forth the memory of Lee as he lay bleeding in the bar, staring at her in shocked disbelief. Using the images as flails, she drove back the compulsion to beg the Cylon for release from the pain. She wasn't a frakkin' traitor. She'd betrayed enough people in the past. No more. Not this time.
Opening her eyes, Starbuck used the pain to fuel a genuine smirk, seeing the tall blonde's frustration at her continued defiance.
[ I I I I I ]
As Six scrutinized Starbuck, she bitterly acknowledged her failure to bring the human to her metaphorical knees. She had been sure that even this intractable woman would crumble beneath the mounting physical abuse. If only the others would allow her unfettered rein!
Grimacing, she recalled how Cavil had called her into his office after D'Anna and she had had their little talk. He had obviously been to see the prisoner and had felt that his own reminder of Starbuck's importance was necessary. Six had felt an unaccustomed fear at the coldness in the older Cylon's eyes as he had seconded D'Anna's admonishment that this Starbuck was needed alive and in a single presentable piece. A shiver trickled down her spine as she recalled his handing her the leather strap and giving a parting warning that toys weren't the only things that could be boxed.
Six told herself that her failure up to this point was only due to the restrictions placed on her. The human's body kept giving out before her will to resist. Seeing the beaten and wet woman flaunting her insolence made Six seethe with the need to smash the grin from the obnoxious face.
Forcing herself to take a step back, the Cylon woman surveyed her victim from head to toe. Then she considered what she knew about Starbuck. Her eyes widened as she spotted the flaw in her strategy. There was no Starbuck. It was only a callsign. True, one that bore quite the reputation, but still not much more than a nickname.
No, this woman was Kara.
As she tilted her head to the side, Six contemplated what she knew of Kara Thrace. Leoben had of course shared the history of the human's abusive childhood. It certainly explained her extraordinary ability to withstand the physical pressures brought to bear so far.
Six sought to calculate how growing up in that type of situation would affect a child. For the first time she found herself wishing she'd had some interaction with humans before the fall of the Colonies. Arriving on Caprica only after the obliteration of the vast majority of the residents, the Cylon woman's only substantial contact with humans was since being put in charge of the interrogations here at the detention center. A couple of months of inflicting torture had taught her their physical weaknesses, but left her woefully ignorant of their psychological ones.
Frowning at her lack, she gave Kara another once over, that's when she noted the blood around the shackled wrists. An idea narrowed her eyes and she saw how the human was shivering, barely able to hold her smirk in place when her teeth were obviously chattering
Six moved in close again. "Cold?" She let her gaze trail slowly upward, knowing that she had Kara's attention as she let her eyes linger on the cuffed hands. "I bet Viper pilots need sensitive hands. Strong hands... Whole hands..." She let her eyes drop now and lock with the wary green ones. "Ever wonder how much nerve damage cold and blood restriction might do to a pair of hands?" Yes! That hit its mark. She grinned, noting the prisoner's fearful glance upwards. Six nearly purred as she said, "I think I'll just leave you to contemplate that for awhile."
As Kara's hate-filled gaze locked back on hers, Six leaned closer and softly said, "or you could ask me nicely to let you down. What's say you? Ready to beg now?"
She stepped back, watching Kara wrestle with her fear and defiance. No. The woman wasn't ready to concede. Not yet. It was true that she was going to have to take care not to actually cause permanent harm, but the human woman didn't know that.
Her smile was ugly with malice as she said, "I'll be back to check on you later. Think on my proposal, Starbuck. I doubt the fleet has many uses for a cripple."