Sammy woke up on a cot in a cell aboard her captor's ship. She rubbed the back of her head carefully. How long had she been out? She swung her legs over the side and leaned back against the wall. She was still wearing her wedding dress. Still clueless as to what these men wanted and why she had been abducted. If they wanted money or valuables they could have just looted the ship and been on their way. Maybe they had. She didn't remember the other 2 men returning with them. What had happened to her father? Was he OK? She would do anything to protect him, to keep him safe.
She looked up as the leader walked into the room just outside her cell. The force field dropped and he stepped in. As he walked across the cell he tapped his thigh with a rolled up parchment. When he reached the cot where she was sitting he turned and sat down uncomfortably near to her. She hugged her knees to her chest and glared at him.
"What have you done with the people on my ship?" She felt her voice quiver.
"Nothing, yet." It sounded like a threat so she ignored it.
"Why am I here?" She felt anger welling up inside of her.
"I need you to do something for me", was his only response.
Sammy was shocked. He seemed almost cordial. What could she possibly do for
this man besides the obvious? She was a first rate hacker from Saphous Beta
but she was far from the best. She had no money, no possessions, nothing of
any worth to such a man.
Her train of thought screeched to a halt. What was she thinking? She was recently married to one of the wealthiest men in the quadrant! Well that scenario didn't make any sense. If they wanted to kidnap someone for a hefty ransom they would have taken the prince, his parents, grandmother, children or even the engineer but not her.
The only person who would actually pay a king's ransom for her was her father and he was most likely broke again. What did this man want from her? Did he know that she barely knew the prince? Should she tell him? What would he do when he found out that she was worthless to him? She prayed her father was alright.
Her captor caught sight of her confusion. He threw back his head and howled
like a wolf at the moon. She on the other hand didn't find this the least
bit funny. This idiot finding humor in her irritation was making her frustration
grow exponentially. "WHAT do you want from me?" She leapt from the
cot and glared down at him. "What could I possibly have that you want
or need?"
The man interlocked his fingers behind his head and leaned back against the cell wall. Damn he was smug! "My name is Roman and I did not say I wanted anything FROM you. I need you to do something FOR me. It's as simple as that. You do this one thing for me and I will release your ship."
Sammy's mood lightened. "Is everyone OK?"
"Yes for the time being. I'm sure they eagerly await your response to my question." He was getting impatient with her. She was a hellion, a real pain in the ass. Maybe he should wait for another ship. Controlling her was going to prove difficult.
Sammy still couldn't imagine what this man wanted from her. "What do you want me to do FOR you?"
"Ah, so you agree then?" She wanted to wipe that pompous smile off his face with the palm of her hand but restrained herself for once.
The thought of one of these thugs laying a hand on her father was nauseating. "What do you want me to do?" She repeated with a complete lack of emotion.
"Alright, have it your way." He sat forward to look more directly into her face. "I simply want you to deliver a message for me. That is all. We will go over the details before you are dispatched." He stood abruptly and handed her the rolled up parchment.
"Why do you need me for this?" Sammy was incredulous. "Why don't you just do it yourself?" Her fingers skimmed over the blood red seal closure.
Roman was silent for a moment. "Because I am not human and you are."
"What does that have to do with this?" Sammy was confused.
"Your ship was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Don't blame yourself." He almost sounded apologetic.
Roman felt pity for the woman but she would get him what he wanted or die. "We are Romulan. We cannot beam onto this man's ship without being detected. Our underground intelligence officers have informed us that their sensors ignore Reman and Human life forms. Since there are currently no off-world Remans who would perform this task we needed a Human."
"What is a RE-man?" Sammy was curious. She had never heard of the RE-man race before. "What is this parchment for?" This was all so bizarre and she had many more questions.
Roman was fed up with her badgering. "I will tell you what you need to know WHEN you need to know it. You will do as I say or your family will die. Do you understand me?"
His icy reply silenced her. Sammy nodded her understanding. She would be a delivery service if it would save her father's life. She wouldn't be the instrument of his death.