Authors Note: This is the third story in what will hopefully be a long line of stories. This story continues the adventures of the Lieutenant Simon Hartstone. While not necessary to read the two stories "Punishment" and "Captured!" it would be advisable to set up why this new character is aboard Voyager. If you read "Training" I should let you know I have decided to take that down considering I don't know where to take the story as well as the fact of the matter is I wasn't too happy with the first chapter I wrote and the second chapter wasn't going so well either. I wanted to write a story that included the whole Hazard Team and not just about Lieutenant Hartstone and I obviously wanted to write a kick ass story as well. Also I don't know how to work out stardates, I have looked on the star trek website to try and discern a pattern for them but their doesn't seem to be one they just seem to be a load of random numbers, I have set this in season 6 after the episode "One Small Step." I wanted log entries to feature more as I think they were a primary way of story setting on most of the Star Trek episodes.

Happiness

Read Chapter 1 for disclaimers and some other junk. I have upped the rating in this story due to violence, language, and the torture of a character. This is not for the weak at heart so be warned!

Chapter 10: Execution

Simon looked at the crowd as they sneered, jeered and booed him as he was led through the town's streets in a cart. Most of the people were throwing rotten vegetables at him as he rode through the town; he rode right up to the square with people still following him, booing him. He looked around most of them he knew, they were his shipmates and his family and they were supporting his execution. The cart stopped at the stage where a table had been set up with a cloth covering the contents. He was grabbed from the cart and led up to the stage, he was shackled with his hands behind his back and they were in turn connected to his ankles, which were shackled together. It was like being hog-tied but being able to stand up. Lord Serbist entered from the other side of the stage, which elicited a huge cheer from the crowd as they also got to their knees. Simon stood defiant for about three seconds before a swift hit from a rod to the back of his knees brought him down onto his knees. He screamed partly in pain for the hit and partly in anger. Lord Sebist held up his arms with the palms of his hands facing the ground, which silenced the crowd in nearly an instant.

"Simon Hartstone, on the charge of treason towards our Lord you will be executed" a guard read out from a paper scroll. "Now the Lord in his generosity will allow you one last reprieve, if you pledge to serve the Lord faithfully in your next life, he will allow your death to be quick and painless" this elicited a huge boo from the crowd. Obviously they want to see a little torture Simon thought. "However if you continue to resist he assures you, that your death shall be long and very, very painful." A cheer from the crowd obviously told them that's what they wanted to see. "Now I believe you have something to say to our Lord" the crowd hushed again. Simon was allowed to get to his feet and look the Lord directly in the eye, before Simon spat directly in his face. A few seconds later a rod smashed into his stomach before another shot to his temple sent him to the floor, the Lord then kicked him in the ribs as he wiped the spit from his face.

Simon was dragged up to his feet, as the Lord looked Simon in the eye. "That was for the defiance for not kneeling, this is for the spit." He grabbed Simon by the neck and held up in the air with super strength for about 10 seconds before throwing him against a wall that had been built behind the stage. Simon tried to get up, he lifted his head breathing heavily and he spat again on the ground but this time it was blood not spit. He was grabbed again and raised to his feet, where his upper body was stripped of his clothes. They all looked at his chest and all of his scars as the crowd died down again.

"My, My, you have seen your share of battles haven't you" the Lord said as he drew the cloth off the table looking at the table of implements, some sharp, some dull but all rusty. "What shall we go for first sharp of dull?" he looked at the crowd half were shouting for sharp, half were shouting for dull "I think it will be dull" he picked up a fairly sizeable knife something that could be likened to a cleaver knife "Now hold still" Lord Serbist said as the guards held him as Simon tried to fight out of their grasp with no avail "this will only hurt a lot" as he started to slowly bury the knife into his skin into his upper right chest just under the shoulder. Simon let out an absolutely death defying scream as the knife buried deeper into his body, he felt muscle tissue ripping and blood pumping harder and harder as the knife reached the hilt. They let Simon go and he immediately dropped to his knees at which point the Lord took a two-step run up and kicked him directly in the face, which sent him onto his right shoulder when the sharp pain reached him, Simon decided to roll onto his left shoulder. A foot stood on his head and pressed his face into the stage and which point a rod was buried into his neck and a sharp jolt of electricity arced out and into his neck, causing another loud scream as well as massive convulsions through his entire body. The rod was taken away barely five seconds later but to Simon it seemed like five years.

"Now then maybe that would make you more cooperative" the Lord said, "Get him up." Two guards grabbed him by the shoulders, which in itself was now excruciatingly painful, and the Lord looked Simon directly in the eye again. He saw the fruits of his handiwork as blood started to drip from the knife wound, also blood started to drip from his nose. "Unshackle him, I his arms to hang limp, keep his legs tied, we don't want him running away now do we." A guard with a key opened the shackles round his hands, Simon's arms hung limp "Now Simon do you have something you want to say to me" Simon visibly shook in so much pain as he looked up, for a second it looked like he was going to give up, before his left hand snaked out in a left hook but the Lord caught his fist easily and squeezed hard. Both Simon and the Lord heard the multiple cracks as the Lord crushed his fist, Simon screamed in pain "Hold him tight" two guards grabbed him by the shoulders again as the Lord jerked on his arm and Simon screamed as his shoulder popped out. Then the Lord brought his fist down onto Simon's left forearm with huge force and another resounding crack was heard. A swift knee to his stomach, before two rods came down horizontally across Simon's back and he went down again, the Lord looked at Simon and he knew he was on death's door. Simon's eyes were glazed over, as blood dripped out of his nose and mouth.

"I am quite impressed with you Lieutenant Hartstone, a lesser man would have given up by now and an even lesser man would be dead. Right we have had dull, so now we must go for sharp" he picked up another knife from the table, Simon couldn't see it, his vision was so blurred; he could only make out the outline of shapes. "How does it feel to be stuck with your own knife" he showed the knife to Simon even though he couldn't see it. He was holding the combat knife, that Simon had brought on the mission to rescue Lieutenant Commander Tuvok. "Get him up" the guards picked Simon up again and if it wasn't for the guards holding him up Simon would have fallen back down again. The Lord brushed the knife over Simon's face making him feel how sharp it was before ramming the knife directly into his stomach, dead centre and Simon was allowed to drop again screaming in so much pain.

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Simon hit the ground but he wasn't on the stage with the bloodthirsty crowd jeering at him, he was somewhere else he didn't know where but he was somewhere else. A figure walked towards him and brushed his hair back.

"Simon you must fight on" it was a woman in her mid fifties walked towards him with golden hair, and dressed all in white. "People in life need you to fight on, help is on its way you have to hold on just a little longer."

"But I can't" Simon replied "Its too difficult" Simon was openly weeping into the woman's arms.

"You must, do you remember your conversation in the prison cell with your Captain, you like to push back the boundaries of what is possible and what is impossible. You must do that now"

"Who are you and where am I" was Simon's reply

"Look at me and you will know who I am" Simon looked up for some reason his vision wasn't blurry anymore and he could see fine, also he other wounds while still there didn't hurt at all.

"Mother!" Simon said, in complete shock

"Yes, you are in limbo a place between death and living, this is where most of the people make the choices about whether to live or die, and you must live"

"But, I am so tired of battle, I just want to rest for eternity"

"I know but there are other ways, you know that someone on Voyager cares for you, all the crew do but this individual more than the others, you must live for her"

"I will try" Simon openly sobbed in his mother's arms

"You always did your best and you will do your best with this as well I know you will, and your brothers do not hold it against you that you killed them, you set them free from their slavery" Simon looked up into his mothers face as she smiled at him and he smiled back

"Good to know" he said "How do I get out of this place though"

"Just will yourself back into your body and you will go there" his mother started to walk away from him as Simon held his arms out

"Mother will I ever see you again, and Dad, and Andrew and Micheal." He shouted standing up

"Yes, you will see as all again someday but you must live now, go" as she faded out of existence, Simon thought about his body really hard and he opened his eyes to find himself on the stage.

Simon coughed and moved to all fours, which surprised the Lord greatly he turned around

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"Still alive eh, my, my we are strong willed"

Suddenly a large whistling sound could be heard the crowd looked around so try and find where the whistling was coming from before they all looked and saw something hit the ground less that three hundred yards away causing a massive explosion. A ship over flew the area and whipped around for another pass. The Lord looked in utter shock as to what was happening before a compression rifle shot rocked him in the chest, which got his attention. The Lord regained his focus and looked at who had dared open fire on him and what he saw further shocked him. Simon managed to turn to look also and he managed to focus long enough to see who it was and when he did, he smiled and laughed a long draw out laugh, it made every part of him hurt, but he didn't care. Standing there in a command red Starfleet uniform with a smoking compression rifle in hand was Captain Janeway with a look of utter disgust on her face.

"Step away 'Lord' and no one gets hurt" the Captain said with the entire Hazard Team as well as the Doctor flanking her.

"What the hell are you doing Kathryn" a very disgruntled Lord replied

"Well I believe that I am taking back my life, and I have come to take my crew, so I will reiterate Mr Hartstone's previous offer, hand them over and no one gets hurt and the name is Captain Janeway to you."

"What the hell makes you think I am going to do that" the Lord replied

"Well I didn't actually, that why I have this up my sleeve" she tapped her comm badge "Janeway to Delta Flyer, FIRE!" she almost shouted it. As the Delta Flyer came in on another attack run and fire a full volley of phaser fire as well as an additional torpedo into the spot where the original had landed. Suddenly most of the people in the crowd dropped to their knees grabbing at their necks in pain. "Doctor" Janeway turned

"The pain will pass as it did with you" he reassured her, before a call came over the comm system

"Delta Flyer to Captain Janeway" Seven of Nine was on the other end, Captain Janeway tapped her comm badge

"Janeway here, report"

"The source of the signal has been destroyed and the signal itself has ceased to broadcast"

"Thank you Seven, continue to over fly the area we may need you momentarily"

"Yes Captain" was the reply as the channel was closed. Twelve men ran into the square all holding rifles and pointing them at the Captain, the Hazard Team and the Doctor.

"Shoot them" was the order from the stage "but I want Kathryn alive"

"Take cover" was the order from the Captain as they ran behind market stalls and other things that were flanking the court yard as phaser shots started to fill up the air.