Chapter Two; Coherceo

Coherceo. Verb. 1. Confine. 2. Limit. 3. Preserve. 4. Punish. 5. Restrain/repress.

When Data was reactivated, he was struck with the impression that he had been here before. Lying on his back he snapped his head swiftly from side to side, scanning the room as quickly as he could. There were paintings hanging along the white walls, a large red couch shaped into a spiral in the middle of the room, pedestals holding sculptures and artifacts. He knew this place.

"Familiar, isn't it?"

"Kivas Fajo." Data leapt to his feet to turn and face his kidnapper.

Or at least, that was what he had intended to do. Instead his feet scrabbled uselessly against the floor as his legs spasmed and twitched, and his arms failed to lift him more than an inch or so before trembling and collapsing under his weight.

"What have you done to me?" He demanded, fear adding an edge to his voice. He began a diagnostic as Kivas Fajo strolled over to look down on him. Dressed in luscious deep-blue velvet, the Zibalian's fingers were bejewelled, his hair oiled and curled, tucked under a matching velvet cap. The tattoo on his face shifted as he smiled down on the android.

"It took me such a long time to get everything back. Oh, you have no idea how much I had to spend to get my possessions returned here. Of course, some things couldn't be replaced, like poor dear Varria..."

"You killed her." The diagnostic came back clear, all systems functioning as normal. So why was he unable to do more than twitch?

"No, you killed her, Data." The Zibalian's lip curled. "You filled her head with stupid ideas, her blood is on your hands. She was perfectly happy until you came along."

"She was being held captive by you."

Fajo barked a laugh. "She was free to go whenever she wanted to! But she wanted to stay, she chose to stay, because she knew she'd be better off with me!" He looked down at the prone android and shook his head sadly. "You would have been better off too, you know, if you had just behaved. So wilful, so stubborn."

The Zibalian knelt down to push his face close to Data's, staring into his golden eyes.

"You ruined me." Fajo whispered. "You took away everything I had. So now, I am going to ruin you."

Fajo stood and took a turn around the room, seemingly admiring his possessions, as Data continued to struggle. It was as if the gravity was too high, like an invisible weight on him.

"Why am I unable to stand?" He asked, and this time he heard the tremble in his voice. Fajo had heard it too, judging by the lop-sided smile he turned on Data.

"Are you frightened? It's wonderful. I thought you were incredible when I had you before, but now? Oh, just wonderful. Look at you!" Fajo gestured to the trembling android. "Fantastic. The fear in your eyes, it's just beautiful. You know, I'd love to shake your creator by the hand, he really was a genius."

"Tell me why I cannot move!"

"Ha! Panic! It's in the voice! Oh, you're too much, it's just glorious!" Fajo put a hand over his mouth in wonder, his dark eyes gleaming. "I am going to have so much fun."

The Zibalian turned and all but skipped in pleasure as he made his way to the couch. Data craned his neck to watch as Fajo picked up a small device. He held it up, grinning.

"Do you know what this is?" Data scowled at him, and Fajo giggled. "Me neither. No idea, not a clue! I'm an art collector, not a scientist." He waved the object vaguely. "It's something to do with stopping the signals from your positronic brain from reaching your motor... Oh, something, something. You know, I don't care how it works, just that it does. And it does! You're helpless!"

"The Enterprise..."

"They have no idea where you are. Your combadge is gone, we're heavily shielded and cloaked, yadda yadda yadda." Fajo turned to place the device onto a spare pedestal, and Data took the opportunity of his momentary distraction to switch on the visual acuity transmitter. Hopefully, wherever they were, the scanners of the Enterprise would pick up the signal.

"How have you come to own such a specialised piece of equipment?" Data queried. Fajo was picking up something else from the couch, a long stick-like object. He caressed it thoughtfully before turning back to the android.

"Oh, I have a lot of new toys to play with. This is one of them." He took hold of the stick in both hands and pulled gently, and Data realised that it was a case, or more accurately a sheath. Fajo's right hand held the hilt as his left pulled the cover away lovingly, revealing an extraordinarily thin bladelike strand, with a thickness of less than a millimetre, a length of forty centimetres, so fine it was almost transparent. He waved it a little, testing it, and the blade bent and swayed with his movements.

"This, my dear android, is a monofilament crop." The Zibalian's eyes gleamed as he regarded the shining whip. "It's covered with tiny, almost microscopic barbs. It's been specially made, there's only one in the whole universe, and it's for you." He bared his teeth in a grin. "Or, more accurately, for me to use on you."

"You will not harm me, I am too valuable to you." Data tried to put certainty into his voice, but the sight of the short, flexible whip was intimidating. Tiny barbs... it would be like having his sensors flayed out of his skin. Fajo laughed, a full throaty belly-laugh.

"Too valuable?" He bent down once again to the android. "You mean nothing to me, nothing. You took away everything I had. I hate you. I haven't captured you so that I can keep you, oh no, I'm just the middleman. My client is a most intelligent man, he's the one who's given me all these wonderful gadgets, and he's looking forward to having you delivered to him. On a platter, or in a quivering heap, whichever you decide."

The Zibalian stood and walked around the prone android. "If you behave, I won't have to hurt you at all. I'm not asking much, just..." He was interrupted by the chime of the communicator in the corner of the room. He gritted his teeth. "Really? I'm having a moment here! Honestly, sometimes the universe has terrible timing!" He stalked over and thumped the panel. "Yes, what?"

Data dropped his head back to the floor. Whatever this 'new toy' of Fajo's was, it was making it incredibly hard for him to even keep his head raised, especially combined with the power drain from the visual acuity transmission. He hoped desperately that the signal was being received and tracked.

"Get down here, now! Bring the scanner!" Fajo barked into the communicator, and strode back over to look down thunderously on the helpless android.

"If he's right, you are in a lot of trouble, my friend. A lot of trouble." Fajo growled.

"If who is right about what?" Asked Data. Fajo scowled, and the doors hissed open. One of Fajo's crewmen scampered in, a scanner held out before him.

"Look sir, I was right! It's coming from him!"

"You said he was searched!" Fajo snapped and the man cowered.

"He was, sir, I swear it! He can't possibly have anything on him..."

Fajo whirled around and stalked to the disabling device, sat on its pedestal. He punched a pattern onto the small screen, then turned back to the android.

"Get up." He snarled.

Data tentatively tried to sit. To his surprise he was able to raise himself up, although he still felt as though he had somehow become denser, every movement was an extraordinary drain. He looked at Fajo, and then slowly and deliberately lay back down.

Fajo breathed out sharply through his nose. "Listen, android, here's how things are going to work for you. I ask you to do something, and you do it. If you fail to do it when I ask you the first time, I'll assume that you misunderstood, and I will repeat myself. I will not repeat myself a third time, do you understand? Now. Get. Up."

Data remained on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He was trying to remain in control of his breathing, trying to stay calm.

The monofilament crop flicked out, and a line of searing pain flashed across Data's chest. He gasped with the shock of it, the sensation of a thousand tiny hooks tearing into his skin, activating his damage control sensors and sending warnings shrilling through his consciousness. The whip struck again, back the other way, cutting a Saint Andrew's cross into his bioplast and spattering his shredded uniform with the golden yellow liquid that raced through his circulatory system. His eyes opened wide and he clenched his teeth. The third stripe caught one of his nipples, and he shrieked with the red-hot lick of stinging heat that seared through the sensitive area.

"Oh, he told me you could feel pain now, but this is exquisite!" Purred Fajo.

Data's chest heaved as he struggled to stay calm. If he stayed down, Fajo would continue to hurt him. He was only being asked to stand. Was that worth all this pain? Perhaps there would be a time later when he would have to resist and stand his ground. For now, better to acquiesce and stave off further damage. If the chance came to attempt an escape, he would need his strength, would need to be whole.

He put his hands on the floor and pushed himself up. It was hard, much more difficult than he had anticipated, but finally he gained his feet. He drew himself slowly to his full height and glared down at Fajo. The Zibalian met his yellow eyes unflinchingly.

"Strip."

"No."

The crop lashed out, and Data sucked a breath between clenched teeth as the sensors across his stomach flashed signals through him. Another cut, and another, until his uniform jacket was ragged shreds across his body. He could hear the thumping of his circulatory system, priming his hydraulics for either fight or flight, but he was too weak to fight, and there was nowhere to run. He trembled where he stood as shock and panic tore through his neural net, the pain signals hot flashes of fire.

"Don't answer back. You'll speak only when answering a direct question. Strip."

There must be another option. Surely there was a choice other than pain or humiliation? Try as he might, Data couldn't think of a third course of action. The effort of blasting out a subspace transmission and fighting against the weakening effects of whatever that insidious device was were combining to disastrous effect. He felt under-powered, his mind was cluttered with warnings, his judgement impaired by shock and pain and fear.

Slowly, he reached up and unfastened the remnants of his jacket.

Kivas Fajo watched with eager eyes as the android shed his ruined uniform jacket and the undershirt beneath, soaked with hydraulic fluid. Data kicked away his boots and slid his trousers down until he stood before the Zibalian in just his socks and boxer briefs. Fajo's gaze raked over his body with such possessive hunger that Data almost felt it as a physical sensation.

"And the rest."

"No."

Fajo sighed, not with irritation, but seemingly with disappointment. He swished the crop as he moved behind the android, and then delivered two swift stinging cuts to Data's back, marring the smooth pale expanse with an x of oozing yellow. The android flinched and arched his back, as if he could escape the hurt already inflicted upon him.

"Now, Data. I won't ask again."

Data's jaw worked for a moment, before he bent and slid his underwear down and off his feet, slipping his socks off in passing. He was breathing hard, his consciousness overwhelmed with multiple damage control warnings, and now his modesty subroutine kicked into life, urging him to cover his naked body in front of these strangers, these hostiles. He disabled the subroutine and stood as straight as he could. He tried to remind himself that, even without his uniform, he was still a Starfleet officer. He swore he could feel the Zibalian running his eyes over his naked form.

"We've detected a subspace transmission. Where's the transmitter?"

"I do not have such a device." It wasn't a lie. Not as such. Fajo pursed his lips as he walked around to look the android in the eyes.

"Well, the signal's coming from you. It's either on you, or in you. Now, we can do this the easy way; you can shut it off, and I'll forget this silly little transgression. Or, you can continue to be stubborn, and then I'll have to tear you apart looking for the transceiver. I don't want to, you understand, but my client, well, he's happy to have you in pieces if necessary. I'm going to give you 'till the count of five to decide." Fajo swished the crop again, spattering the carpet with golden droplets. "One."

This was intolerable. Never, in all his life, had anyone deliberately caused him pain. Data was totally at a loss. He knew about torture on an intellectual level, knew that some of his friends had been subjected to brutalization in their past, but never had he thought that it may happen to him.

"Two."

If he turned off the transmission, the Enterprise would have no way to track the vessel, they wouldn't be able to find him. He would have to try and escape on his own. He remembered the multiple clever ways that Fajo had held him previously and he felt despair clutch at him. Fajo was smarter now, and even worse, he placed no value on Data remaining whole, or even functional.

"Three."

He had to keep manually shutting down his warning systems. Every time he moved, the cuts would shift and set off the howling of the damage control subroutine, sending flashes of pain lancing through him. His modesty subroutine kept activating, and that required a conscious effort to dispel also. He was finding it increasingly difficult to string together coherent thought through the clamour.

"Four."

He twitched his head, shutting off the transmission. The man with the scanner nodded to Fajo.

"That's it, it's stopped."

"Good." Purred Fajo. "Very good, Data." He turned away from the trembling android. "You may leave. Keep monitoring, let me know if he tries it again." He snapped at the man, who was only too glad to flee. The doors slid shut behind him, and Fajo turned once more to devouring the android's exposed white-gold skin with his eyes.

"You are the most fascinating creature, you know that?" Fajo murmured. He reached out and ran his fingertips across the sculpted pectoral muscles, smearing the shimmering fluid leaking from the cuts. "You cannot begin to imagine how... alluring you are. I have spent my whole life collecting things of rare beauty, but you? Oh, like a moving, feeling, perfect doll." He grabbed the android's jaw. Data tried to jerk his head free and found himself unable to break the Zibalian's grip. Fajo smiled his lopsided smile.

"I love my new toys." He sighed.