Chapter 2
William Riker stared in disbelief at the gaping hole where the USS Titan used to be. Standing on the bridge of the Naiturian ship Malvagità, he had to consciously remember to breathe. Each breath he took felt more pointless than the last. His mind was numb and his heart seemed to be in as many pieces as the Titan is. Riker slowly looked down at his left hand and ran his thumb over the gold band.
"Now, Captain, you could make this so much easier by just telling us the location of the device. Unless of course, this is fun for you, but from the look of it, I don't think it is," said Cattivo, captain of the vessel. He had been sitting in the large chair at the center of the bridge, watching Riker with a grin on his face that revealed a set of razor sharp fangs. Up until now, he'd been silent.
Riker lifted his head and his gaze fell upon the Enterprise-E just on the other side of the debris field. He knew they couldn't see the Malvagità. The technology on this ship was beyond anything Riker had ever seen. The cloaking capabilities made Shinzon's cloak seem primitive.
"I don't know where it is," Riker said, his face like stone. Cattivo blew air through the two small slits on his small lizard-like muzzle.
"You're wasting my time. Throw him in the brig," shouted Cattivo. Two of Cattivo's security officers grabbed Riker's arms and pulled him towards the door at the back of the bridge.
Throwing Riker into a small cell, the two guards activated the forcefield and then scoffed at him.
"The righteous Starfleet Captain locked in the brig…what're you going to do now?" one of them said.
"You've got plenty of time to think about it," said the other one.
"I guess it works out in my favor then, doesn't it?" Riker quipped. The two burly guards shot him evil glances and figured they'd better leave before he came up with a plan. Riker watched them leave and then walked to the back of the cell. Leaning against the wall, he let his feet slide out from under him. He brought his knees up and rested his elbows on them with his head in his hands. He clenched his eyes shut and drew in a shaky breath. His entire crew was dead. He hadn't even gotten to know all of them as closely as he would have liked. The Titan had only been in space six months and now all that's left of it are a few small pieces of space junk. And he was terrified not knowing where Deanna was.
