Note: about a year worth of files should be here but are not (filename s-nut).

"Switchblade, he's all right. When he gets drunk, he fights all night!" - Brian Setzer Swing Orchestra

Entry: They caught her. They caught Tak. She's already been convicted (almost as soon as they started uploading memories from her PAK), and they're bringing her in tonight to serve her sentence: progressive deactivation, which is a fancy term for torturing her until her body slowly shuts down. We're going to break her so hard she won't even know who she is anymore.

Wait -- I'm getting a transmission from the Massive.

Memory download: Orders about Tak

I hit "accept" on the control pad, and the Tallest pop up on my screen. I don't even get a chance to greet them.

"Night," Red says. "We have a job for you."

"Yes, Tallest?"

"You know Tak is being brought to Fortress D tonight, right?" Purple asks.

"Yes, Tallest."

"She's all yours," Red says. "No one else is allowed to handle her without your permission. We're trusting you, Night. She's the most dangerous non-defective in the Empire, and we don't want any mistakes. If she escapes . . . "

"We still have that Horrible Liquid Doom you gave us," Purple says with a meaningful smirk.

"Don't worry, Tallest. Once she's in my hands, she will never see the stars again."

"Bring us proof when you're done with her," Red says. "We'd rather not wait too long."

"It will be within the year," I tell them. "I see no point in dragging it out longer."

"Make sure it's at least three weeks, though," Red orders. "That's how long she kept us trapped."

"At least three weeks of hell for Tak," I repeat. "Anything else?"

"Not for now," Red says.

"Elite Master Night, signing off." I salute as the transmission ends.

"I've seen the end of the world, and it's futile running away." - Rune Dymenshan

Memory download: Prisoner transfer

The ship has just come in to dock, and there are more guards in the bay than I've ever seen at one place before. The ship's door opens, and a tight group of Elites marches out. From my position on the deck above the bay, I can see Tak in the center of the knot. Her hands are tied, and there are cuffs on her ankles, connected by a cable just long enough to let her walk. There's a heavy metal shell over her PAK so she can't use any of its attachments.

The cruelest and most ingenious touch, though, is the clasp holding her antennae together. I've seen those on occasion (never used one myself), and their effects can be extremely disabling. It must be on a low setting, because Tak is weaving slightly as if she's dizzy. That's probably the result of the clasp mixing signals so she can't tell right from left. I think I'll use one on her, especially if they're kind enough to just leave that one in place. It should be interesting seeing if I can get the auditory/visual crossover I've heard of that device producing.

They've marched her out of the bay now, taking her to the encoding room and from there to the lockdown room I've set aside for her. It's not far from my quarters, so I can go play with her anytime I feel like it.

Memory download: Meeting her

I wait as the system does a full bioscan before unlocking the inner door to Tak's cage. She's tied down on a restraining table, facing away from the door so she can't see me enter. I notice the clasp is still on her antennae. Good. The tablet I brought has the control program for it.

"Who are you?" she demands. Well, she's not broken yet. This should make the game more interesting for me.

"It doesn't matter who I am," I tell her, walking around the table so she can see me. "As far as you'e concerned, I'm just another mutant Irken whose life is worthless compared to yours. Right?"

"I know who you are. Night. The one who engineered WhiteX. Aren't you?"

"Why should you care?"

"I spent years trying to get a sample of that. It would have changed everything."

"That's why we destroyed it as soon as it served its purpose. We don't need a revolution."

She snorts. "You only say that because they've been kind to you so far."

"At least I have the forethought to cover up my crimes," I say coldly.

Tak looks disgusted. "I did too, once. Then they declared me a traitor for something I didn't do, but no one believed me. At that point, I decided that if they're going to destroy me, I want to deserve it." She stares at the ceiling with a fierce, icy look in her eyes, daring me to hurt her.

"Well, your destruction begins now," I say, switching a setting on the antenna clasp. Tak's face contorts; she's hearing a grating, high-pitched tone that, left on for a few days, has been known to drive Irkens insane.

She glares at me. "I expected more," she snarls. I shrug and add electrical interference to distort her sense of space. She closes her eyes, obviously trying to compose herself, fighting the sensations of falling and being closed in. She's starting to look sick. I'm curious how long she'll go before she throws up.

After a few minutes, she stops fighting so much. It's hard to tell if she's adjusted or just given up trying to resist. I need more data. I go to the storage area outside the containmnet cell and get a couple of readings kits from the medical cabinet.

"I thought you'd left me," Tak says mockingly as I re-enter the room.

"I'll always be back until you die," I reply as I open the kits. The first thing I put on her is the sensor collar; it provides the most data and gives a deceptive impression that the sensors are all skin-mounted. Next, I add the conductivity sensors, which don't cause pain but give important information on stress levels.

"So are you going to do any experiments on me?" she asks idly.

"I haven't decided," I tell her as I unwrap one of the body core sensors, a long, thin needle with several wires leading from it. I find the proper spot between her ribs and slip it in. Judging by its length, the point should be somewhere near her midline. I just hope I've angled it up enough to avoid seriously damaging her organs; it wouldn't do to have her die too soon. Surprisingly, she didn't make a sound, despite the fact that it must have hurt quite a bit. High tolerance for pain. I'll have to remember that.

Two more of those and I have all the data sources I need. Some torturers use sensors in the brain or PAK to monitor their subject's mental state. Their eyes tell me all I care to know.

"So when is this going to start being painful?" Tak sighs boredly.

"I don't give that kind of information," I say. I will not let her goad me into killing her that quickly. That's what she wants, and I refuse to give her that release. I check her readings and watch her for a moment. The tone is still on, and I can tell it's getting to her. The way her antennae twitch, the slight unfocused look in her eyes when she stops watching me, and the tension in her upper body speak eloquently of internal fury at the unstoppable noise. That's plenty for our first session.

"Leaving already?" she yells as the door slams shut behind me.

I can see why the Tallest want her to die slowly.

"Never found beaten down with your forked tongue tied." - Showbread

A/N: I know you're thinking it, and you're wrong. You're so wrong. Night's not like that.

And yes, there is an explanation for those missing files. It's another story. (Literally! It'll be a separate story on here when it gets written.)