"Apparitions"
Time: Twenty-five cycles after Dog With Two Bones
Disclaimer: I didn't create Farscape, didn't create the characters and don't make a plug nickel off of it.
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Part Fourteen: Beware The Chair
He didn't want to scream, but as he felt the Aurora Chair rip into his mind, Mattis found he couldn't hold it in for very long. The pain was far too great and screaming was the only release.
In his time with the Peacekeepers, Mattis had heard rumors about the Aurora Chair, about how the way it ripped through a prisoner's mind, reducing them to limp, sobbing shells of themselves. It always seemed to be a rather vicious means of interrogation.
Now, sitting in the Chair, feeling it shred any resistance he put up, Mattis couldn't find anything to contradict his belief.
Somewhere beyond the Chair, in the darkness that filled the interrogation room came the woman's voice. "So, you were once a Peacekeeper? Name and rank!"
"Wouldn't you like to know," Mattis said through his teeth.
"As a matter of fact, I would. Another layer."
A white-hot point of light erupted in his mind and Mattis wondered if someone had slipped live power lines into his skull. "Mattis.Bohr.Peacekeeper t.tech.once of.of.Beralis Company."
"And why did you abandon the Peacekeepers?"
Images from the transport played on the screen. Mattis could see himself and the other techs working to repair the malfunctioning power plant. The scene changed to the crew rushing to escape pods. "What did you expect me to do? They.they left me to die in.an.escape pod. They didn't try to find me."
Mattis heard footsteps behind him. "You were obviously rescued. Why didn't you make an effort to get back to Beralis Company?"
In the back of his mind, his own voice asked the same question. "What would.have been the point? It was.a few weekens.before I was near an outpost. I prob.ably would have been.declared.irreversibly contaminated. Besides, ever try.to make a Leviathan.go where she doesn't want to?"
"Oh, so you were picked up by a Leviathan? Does this Leviathan have a name?"
Images of Moya and Pilot danced through his mind, repeated on the Aurora Chair's screen. "Mmmmm..Moya. Her name is Moya." Mattis squeezed his eyes shut. "I'm sorry, Pilot."
"Moya? That's a familiar name. I just can't remember where I heard it right now. So, what were you doing here? What would two Sebaceans want on an Ilanic outpost?"
Mattis fought back the urge to tell the interrogator that Vanessa wasn't a full Sebacean. "Get frelled." The pain burst into his mind again and he again screamed.
Abruptly, the pain was gone.
As the Chair stopped rotating, Mattis became aware of a woman standing to one side. She was dressed in a close fitting black uniform, trimmed in a minimal amount of red. "A lieutenant. I'm honored."
Mattis continued to stare at her, noticing that something just wasn't right. Her hair was dark and cut severely short, but her skin tone was pale, almost ashen, and her lips were dark gray. He blinked several times and swallowed. "You're not a full Sebacean, are you?"
The muscles along her jaw flexed. "You're very observant. Very well. I am Lieutenant Misata Katsur, aide to Captain Abetan."
"Part Nebari, I assume."
"Again, very good. What's the problem with the Chair?"
Mattis could hear someone working with the Chair's control panel. "Power failure, Lieutenant. Techs have been called."
Katsur shook her head. "Leave him in the Chair. Call me when the repairs are complete." She leaned close to Mattis. "It appears you have a brief recuperation. We'll continue soon."
"I'm counting the microts," he said.
Mattis heard two sets of footsteps, then a surprised gasp. "Tech! There's a fault in the Chair's power system."
"Yes, sir. I'll get right on it." Mattis heard someone climb onto the platform. "Mattis Bohr? Is it really you?"
Mattis glanced to the side. Another woman's face, framed by dark hair, hovered at the edge of his sight. It took a microt, but he realized he knew her. "Rea Ayani?"
The tech glanced at the guards. "You were reported dead, back when the transport went up."
"Locator beacon malfunctioned. It's a long story. Don't let the guards see you talking to me, Rea. Don't tell anyone you know me. You might end up here in the Chair." Mattis saw a look of confusion cross her face, then she backed away and started working.
Mattis blinked several times and tried to clear his mind. Can't let them find out what we're doing, he thought. Talyn's not here to fight them off. Moya won't stand a chance.
His eyes slipped shut and he drifted into unconsciousness.
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Vanessa stared at the ceiling of the cell and tried not to let her anxiety show. It had been arns since Mattis had been taken for interrogation. Though she couldn't be sure about it, Vanessa thought she heard his screams as the Aurora Chair work on his mind.
We really frelled up this time, she thought. Just slip in, hit up Tashina's friend for partanium and slip out again. Stabbed in the back by a friend. What a cliché.
Why is nothing we do ever easy?
Vanessa closed her eyes and hoped Moya had been able to get away from the Peacekeepers. She would hate to escape from the cell and find debris that had once been Moya.
The cell door opened and a guard stepped in. He kept his pulse rifle trained on Vanessa as two other guards dragged Mattis in. They dropped him at Vanessa's feet and backed out. The first guard looked down at him with disgust on his face. "Deserter," he said, then looked up at Vanessa. "Be back for you." He walked out of the cell and slammed the door.
She knelt and carefully rolled Mattis onto his back. "Mattis! Say something!"
He blinked several times before his eyes focused on Vanessa. "I don't feel well," he said.
Vanessa sighed in relief and cradled his head on her lap. "It'll be all right. If I know Mom and Dad, they're on their way to get Talyn."
Mattis took several deep breaths and sat up slowly. "I think I told them Moya's name, but nothing else. They may be able to figure out who you are before you ever get to the Chair."
"You're really filling me with optimism, Mattis." Vanessa stood and began to pace. "There must be something I can do to keep them from finding anything."
"The more you resist, the more it hurts. It even hurts to tell them what they want to hear." Mattis took a deep breath. "The stories I used to hear about the Chair just didn't do it justice. One thing may be in our favor. An old friend of mine is assigned to the tech detachment. If she hasn't changed over the last three cycles, she might be able to help us."
"She?"
"This is no time to be jealous, Vanessa. I'm not even sure she'll be able to do anything."
The cell door opened again and the guard stepped in. "You! Move!" He aimed his pulse rifle at them, making resistance out of the question.
Vanessa glanced at Mattis then followed the guard out.
Mattis stared at the closing door and closed his eyes. How did you describe a bad situation we were once in, Vanessa? Frelled up beyond all recovery? That certainly describes this disaster. He sighed and lay back, wondering if things could get worse.
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Vanessa watched as the guards strapped her into the Aurora Chair and tried to appear calm. She glanced at the Peacekeeper officer that watched her. "Would you mind if I asked who you are?"
"Why," the lieutenant said with typical Peacekeeper arrogance.
"Call me curious. It's a character flaw."
The officer looked amused. "All right. I'll indulge your curiosity. Lieutenant Misata Katsur, aide to Captain Abetan."
"You look like you're part Nebari." Vanessa looked around at the guards and techs in the room. "Hey, guys, how does it feel to take orders from a half-breed?" The guards and most of the techs didn't respond. One tech, a young woman that stood quietly by the door, looked upset.
Katsur looked angry for a microt, turned to the officer at the console and nodded. Vanessa's mind seemed to explode with white-hot pain as the Chair began to rotate. Though she tried not to, Vanessa screamed.
The Lieutenant started to pace in the opposite direction of the Chair's rotation. "We'll start with something basic. What's your name?"
Vanessa could feel the Aurora Chair begin to reach into her mind. Despite what Mattis said about resisting, she clamped her jaw shut. "You can take a good guess," she said through her teeth.
"I already know it, so you might as well save yourself some pain and tell me." Vanessa remained silent. "You are Vanessa Sun, from the Leviathan known as Moya. Over the course of the last few cycles, you've made a nuisance of yourself, interfering in the affairs of not only the Peacekeepers, but you've also aided the Nebari Resistance and annoyed a number of smaller powers. Do you have a death wish?"
"Someone's gotta help the little people." Vanessa squeezed her eyes shut and tears began to stream down her face. "Who else will do it? You Peacekeepers certainly won't." Something snapped and another burst of pain exploded in her mind. Vanessa's muscles locked as she tried to break the bindings that held her arms down.
"You can spare yourself the pain if you'll just answer my questions."
What sounded like maniacal laughter boiled up from deep in Vanessa's body. "But.I like pain! It gets me.hot! Hey, Lieutenant! You look like you could use.a.good.frell." She screamed again as the Chair reached deeper into her mind.
Unwanted memories played through her mind and were repeated on the Chair's screen. Images of her childhood played out, no matter how hard she tried to stop them. Katsur watched them and nodded. "You were born on the Leviathan? Interesting. Why did you come here?"
"Time.time for a vacation."
"You came here for partanium. What do you need partanium for?" Images of the module appeared on the screen. "Is it for this craft? Partanium is a potent source of energy. What do you need it for? Answer me!"
"Frell.off."
"Tell me why you need the partanium! Tell me! Another layer!"
White-hot pain that felt like a pulse blast burned her mind. More images streamed across the screen and she heard her father's voice. "Don't ever tell anyone that you're not a full Sebacean, Vanessa. Peacekeepers despise hybrids, except when they can do something for them, like Scorpius."
Her own voice now, sounding like a child. "You're not Sebacean, Daddy?"
"No, I'm not. You're mother's Sebacean. I came from a little planet called Earth. We've been looking for the right way to Earth for a long time now."
Katsur watched the scene play out and laughed. "So, you're a hybrid, too. Isn't it ironic that you'd try to play on my staff's prejudices, knowing they'd react to you the same way." She considered for a microt. "So your father was searching for a way back to his home. Did he ever find it?"
Vanessa tried to stay silent, but the Chair forced her to speak. "No, he never did." Images of the module tumbling into the wormhole played across the screen. "Frellin'.wormholes."
The Lieutenant straightened. "What do you know about wormholes?" Her eyes lowered and she thought quickly. "You were on Bia'thera. You and the tech were among the intruders that broke into the ancillary research facility and kidnapped Furlow."
She saw herself talking to Furlow, again saw the Pathfinder step into the room and again felt the quills pierce her skin. "Why are you interfering with our wormhole research? Why is it important to you?"
Now Vanessa heard Mattis's voice. ".how often do you get to save the universe.no one should have that much power.we'll stop them."
Katsur looked amused. "Just the few of you to stop an entire Gammak base? I would be interested in finding out how you plan to do that."
Vanessa closed her eyes. "No."
"Tell me!"
"N.no!"
"TELL ME!"
"FRELL YOU!"
Her mind exploded into a red haze that blocked out the entire world. Vanessa heard her scream for a microt before it and the rest of the world was lost in the haze.
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TO BE CONTINUED
Disclaimer: I didn't create Farscape, didn't create the characters and don't make a plug nickel off of it.
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Part Fourteen: Beware The Chair
He didn't want to scream, but as he felt the Aurora Chair rip into his mind, Mattis found he couldn't hold it in for very long. The pain was far too great and screaming was the only release.
In his time with the Peacekeepers, Mattis had heard rumors about the Aurora Chair, about how the way it ripped through a prisoner's mind, reducing them to limp, sobbing shells of themselves. It always seemed to be a rather vicious means of interrogation.
Now, sitting in the Chair, feeling it shred any resistance he put up, Mattis couldn't find anything to contradict his belief.
Somewhere beyond the Chair, in the darkness that filled the interrogation room came the woman's voice. "So, you were once a Peacekeeper? Name and rank!"
"Wouldn't you like to know," Mattis said through his teeth.
"As a matter of fact, I would. Another layer."
A white-hot point of light erupted in his mind and Mattis wondered if someone had slipped live power lines into his skull. "Mattis.Bohr.Peacekeeper t.tech.once of.of.Beralis Company."
"And why did you abandon the Peacekeepers?"
Images from the transport played on the screen. Mattis could see himself and the other techs working to repair the malfunctioning power plant. The scene changed to the crew rushing to escape pods. "What did you expect me to do? They.they left me to die in.an.escape pod. They didn't try to find me."
Mattis heard footsteps behind him. "You were obviously rescued. Why didn't you make an effort to get back to Beralis Company?"
In the back of his mind, his own voice asked the same question. "What would.have been the point? It was.a few weekens.before I was near an outpost. I prob.ably would have been.declared.irreversibly contaminated. Besides, ever try.to make a Leviathan.go where she doesn't want to?"
"Oh, so you were picked up by a Leviathan? Does this Leviathan have a name?"
Images of Moya and Pilot danced through his mind, repeated on the Aurora Chair's screen. "Mmmmm..Moya. Her name is Moya." Mattis squeezed his eyes shut. "I'm sorry, Pilot."
"Moya? That's a familiar name. I just can't remember where I heard it right now. So, what were you doing here? What would two Sebaceans want on an Ilanic outpost?"
Mattis fought back the urge to tell the interrogator that Vanessa wasn't a full Sebacean. "Get frelled." The pain burst into his mind again and he again screamed.
Abruptly, the pain was gone.
As the Chair stopped rotating, Mattis became aware of a woman standing to one side. She was dressed in a close fitting black uniform, trimmed in a minimal amount of red. "A lieutenant. I'm honored."
Mattis continued to stare at her, noticing that something just wasn't right. Her hair was dark and cut severely short, but her skin tone was pale, almost ashen, and her lips were dark gray. He blinked several times and swallowed. "You're not a full Sebacean, are you?"
The muscles along her jaw flexed. "You're very observant. Very well. I am Lieutenant Misata Katsur, aide to Captain Abetan."
"Part Nebari, I assume."
"Again, very good. What's the problem with the Chair?"
Mattis could hear someone working with the Chair's control panel. "Power failure, Lieutenant. Techs have been called."
Katsur shook her head. "Leave him in the Chair. Call me when the repairs are complete." She leaned close to Mattis. "It appears you have a brief recuperation. We'll continue soon."
"I'm counting the microts," he said.
Mattis heard two sets of footsteps, then a surprised gasp. "Tech! There's a fault in the Chair's power system."
"Yes, sir. I'll get right on it." Mattis heard someone climb onto the platform. "Mattis Bohr? Is it really you?"
Mattis glanced to the side. Another woman's face, framed by dark hair, hovered at the edge of his sight. It took a microt, but he realized he knew her. "Rea Ayani?"
The tech glanced at the guards. "You were reported dead, back when the transport went up."
"Locator beacon malfunctioned. It's a long story. Don't let the guards see you talking to me, Rea. Don't tell anyone you know me. You might end up here in the Chair." Mattis saw a look of confusion cross her face, then she backed away and started working.
Mattis blinked several times and tried to clear his mind. Can't let them find out what we're doing, he thought. Talyn's not here to fight them off. Moya won't stand a chance.
His eyes slipped shut and he drifted into unconsciousness.
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Vanessa stared at the ceiling of the cell and tried not to let her anxiety show. It had been arns since Mattis had been taken for interrogation. Though she couldn't be sure about it, Vanessa thought she heard his screams as the Aurora Chair work on his mind.
We really frelled up this time, she thought. Just slip in, hit up Tashina's friend for partanium and slip out again. Stabbed in the back by a friend. What a cliché.
Why is nothing we do ever easy?
Vanessa closed her eyes and hoped Moya had been able to get away from the Peacekeepers. She would hate to escape from the cell and find debris that had once been Moya.
The cell door opened and a guard stepped in. He kept his pulse rifle trained on Vanessa as two other guards dragged Mattis in. They dropped him at Vanessa's feet and backed out. The first guard looked down at him with disgust on his face. "Deserter," he said, then looked up at Vanessa. "Be back for you." He walked out of the cell and slammed the door.
She knelt and carefully rolled Mattis onto his back. "Mattis! Say something!"
He blinked several times before his eyes focused on Vanessa. "I don't feel well," he said.
Vanessa sighed in relief and cradled his head on her lap. "It'll be all right. If I know Mom and Dad, they're on their way to get Talyn."
Mattis took several deep breaths and sat up slowly. "I think I told them Moya's name, but nothing else. They may be able to figure out who you are before you ever get to the Chair."
"You're really filling me with optimism, Mattis." Vanessa stood and began to pace. "There must be something I can do to keep them from finding anything."
"The more you resist, the more it hurts. It even hurts to tell them what they want to hear." Mattis took a deep breath. "The stories I used to hear about the Chair just didn't do it justice. One thing may be in our favor. An old friend of mine is assigned to the tech detachment. If she hasn't changed over the last three cycles, she might be able to help us."
"She?"
"This is no time to be jealous, Vanessa. I'm not even sure she'll be able to do anything."
The cell door opened again and the guard stepped in. "You! Move!" He aimed his pulse rifle at them, making resistance out of the question.
Vanessa glanced at Mattis then followed the guard out.
Mattis stared at the closing door and closed his eyes. How did you describe a bad situation we were once in, Vanessa? Frelled up beyond all recovery? That certainly describes this disaster. He sighed and lay back, wondering if things could get worse.
---------------------------------------
Vanessa watched as the guards strapped her into the Aurora Chair and tried to appear calm. She glanced at the Peacekeeper officer that watched her. "Would you mind if I asked who you are?"
"Why," the lieutenant said with typical Peacekeeper arrogance.
"Call me curious. It's a character flaw."
The officer looked amused. "All right. I'll indulge your curiosity. Lieutenant Misata Katsur, aide to Captain Abetan."
"You look like you're part Nebari." Vanessa looked around at the guards and techs in the room. "Hey, guys, how does it feel to take orders from a half-breed?" The guards and most of the techs didn't respond. One tech, a young woman that stood quietly by the door, looked upset.
Katsur looked angry for a microt, turned to the officer at the console and nodded. Vanessa's mind seemed to explode with white-hot pain as the Chair began to rotate. Though she tried not to, Vanessa screamed.
The Lieutenant started to pace in the opposite direction of the Chair's rotation. "We'll start with something basic. What's your name?"
Vanessa could feel the Aurora Chair begin to reach into her mind. Despite what Mattis said about resisting, she clamped her jaw shut. "You can take a good guess," she said through her teeth.
"I already know it, so you might as well save yourself some pain and tell me." Vanessa remained silent. "You are Vanessa Sun, from the Leviathan known as Moya. Over the course of the last few cycles, you've made a nuisance of yourself, interfering in the affairs of not only the Peacekeepers, but you've also aided the Nebari Resistance and annoyed a number of smaller powers. Do you have a death wish?"
"Someone's gotta help the little people." Vanessa squeezed her eyes shut and tears began to stream down her face. "Who else will do it? You Peacekeepers certainly won't." Something snapped and another burst of pain exploded in her mind. Vanessa's muscles locked as she tried to break the bindings that held her arms down.
"You can spare yourself the pain if you'll just answer my questions."
What sounded like maniacal laughter boiled up from deep in Vanessa's body. "But.I like pain! It gets me.hot! Hey, Lieutenant! You look like you could use.a.good.frell." She screamed again as the Chair reached deeper into her mind.
Unwanted memories played through her mind and were repeated on the Chair's screen. Images of her childhood played out, no matter how hard she tried to stop them. Katsur watched them and nodded. "You were born on the Leviathan? Interesting. Why did you come here?"
"Time.time for a vacation."
"You came here for partanium. What do you need partanium for?" Images of the module appeared on the screen. "Is it for this craft? Partanium is a potent source of energy. What do you need it for? Answer me!"
"Frell.off."
"Tell me why you need the partanium! Tell me! Another layer!"
White-hot pain that felt like a pulse blast burned her mind. More images streamed across the screen and she heard her father's voice. "Don't ever tell anyone that you're not a full Sebacean, Vanessa. Peacekeepers despise hybrids, except when they can do something for them, like Scorpius."
Her own voice now, sounding like a child. "You're not Sebacean, Daddy?"
"No, I'm not. You're mother's Sebacean. I came from a little planet called Earth. We've been looking for the right way to Earth for a long time now."
Katsur watched the scene play out and laughed. "So, you're a hybrid, too. Isn't it ironic that you'd try to play on my staff's prejudices, knowing they'd react to you the same way." She considered for a microt. "So your father was searching for a way back to his home. Did he ever find it?"
Vanessa tried to stay silent, but the Chair forced her to speak. "No, he never did." Images of the module tumbling into the wormhole played across the screen. "Frellin'.wormholes."
The Lieutenant straightened. "What do you know about wormholes?" Her eyes lowered and she thought quickly. "You were on Bia'thera. You and the tech were among the intruders that broke into the ancillary research facility and kidnapped Furlow."
She saw herself talking to Furlow, again saw the Pathfinder step into the room and again felt the quills pierce her skin. "Why are you interfering with our wormhole research? Why is it important to you?"
Now Vanessa heard Mattis's voice. ".how often do you get to save the universe.no one should have that much power.we'll stop them."
Katsur looked amused. "Just the few of you to stop an entire Gammak base? I would be interested in finding out how you plan to do that."
Vanessa closed her eyes. "No."
"Tell me!"
"N.no!"
"TELL ME!"
"FRELL YOU!"
Her mind exploded into a red haze that blocked out the entire world. Vanessa heard her scream for a microt before it and the rest of the world was lost in the haze.
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TO BE CONTINUED
