Star Trek Hunter
Episode 12: Prisoner in the Ice Castle
Scene 12: The Daughters of Sin
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12.12
The Daughters of Sin
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The girls' caretakers had ushered them into the large room in the lowest level of the castle. They had only been here once before - when they had first been brought to this place three years previously. Isethia had grown into a precocious pre-teen and had quickly become aware that she and her sister were prisoners, not just overprotected guests, even though this place belonged to their relatives. Ipitil was now a very protected seven-year-old. Both girls were unusually pale - their skin almost as white as their hair. Each girl had a dedicated young female companion who served as teacher, nursemaid, bodyguard and custodian. Jhessith was overly dedicated to Ipitil, but was allowed to continue in her role under the oversight of Shressa – who understood more precisely what was expected of her and her cousin.

No one had been expecting an attack on this castle – hidden, out of the way, with no strategic value. The attack had been precise, lightning fast and devastating. All electrical power was out throughout the castle, meaning no life support, no food replication, and most importantly, no protection – shield or phaser cannon. That did not mean the castle was entirely defenseless. The ice had strong magnetized strips, making beaming in or out impossible except for the castle's transporter room. And with the power knocked out, that room was equally useless. The attack had also been thorough – backup battery systems and generators had also been destroyed. Whoever had attacked, they obviously had superb intelligence.

Shressa had no idea how many people had been killed or injured, but she had no doubt there had been some people in those areas during the attack. She kept a close eye on Isethia. Shressa had always maintained an emotional distance between herself and her charge because she knew a day like this might come.

The walls in this part of the compound were too thick for the sound of fighting to make it in and radio signals were being jammed, so Shressa was entirely reliant on the guards outside the door for news. Nearly five hours after the initial attack, the door guard gave the all clear signal – a series of knocks. In addition to the girls there were three house guards in this room. One of the guards unlocked and opened the door – then dropped her phase pistol and crumpled to the floor. Two dark-skinned bajorans ducked and rolled into the room and came up firing, rendering the other two guards unconsious.

Shressa knew she was not going to survive this encounter, but she had one thing left to do and it would not go undone. She swept out her knife and raced toward Isethia. From the corner of her eye, she saw her cousin, Jhessith draw her knife as well. Perhaps she did understand her responsibility after all. Before she could reach Isethia, Shressa felt a dull pain in the back of her neck and an incredibly loud crunch. Her arms and legs would no longer do what she was telling them.

Shressa crumpled to the floor. She had failed to kill her charge as was her responsibility, but she had given her last effort to that duty.

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Jhessith, after throwing her knife at her cousin, fell to her knees, hands raised. A fire fight was going on out in the hallway. Four more intruders ducked into the room and closed and locked the door behind them. One was clearly cardassian, the other three were much harder to place. She guessed they were part cardassian, but the wrong color – more tan than gray. Ipitil ran into Jhessith's arms and hugged her, crying in terror.

The three strange-looking cardassians unslung large, cylindrical objects from their backs, each with a built-in tripod. The tall, very dark bajoran gently ushered Isethia toward Jhessith. Isethia was also terrified, but seemed to understand that this was a rescue. The three cylinders were set up in a triangle around Isethia, Jhessith and Ipitil. The six intruders joined them inside this triangle and at the touch of a switch, a glowing band of light connected the top of each of the cylinders to the other two, creating a glowing triangular ribbon of light.

In the next moment the room dissolved and Jhessith found herself being ushered off a crowded transporter pad in a crowded room, Isethia and Ipitil clinging to her. The two dark-skinned bajorans accompanied them into a lift, then from it, through a hallway and into an office where a bolian and another bajoran, both clad in black uniforms, awaited.

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