NOTE: I MESSED UP!! For anyone who was confused I posted chapter 11 then 13 without 12!! Sorry...uh...here is 14. Sorry.
Chapter Fourteen
"The water is cold."
"It will motivate you to get out of it faster. I have new clothes for you, so make sure you're clean."
Barely fifteen years old Salen nodded submissively. Wilson turned and left, he locked the door on the way out. The clicking sound never failed to send a shiver down Salen's spine. Pulling off his blood stained clothes Salen slipped into the cold bathwater. Although he quickly began shivering he stayed long enough to turn the clear water gray with the grim that sloughed off his skin and dripped out of his hair.
Getting out of the tub Salen quickly dried off and put on the loose fitting pair of black pants that he had been provided with. He pulled the drawstring tight and tied it, the large pants hung off his hip bones making him look even more emaciated. Salen glanced at the mirror and furrowed his brow.
"When did my hair turn white?"
Salen jolted in surprise and instinctively took a step back as Wilson stormed into the bathroom. He looked Salen over and nodded in approval before beckoning him to follow. Knowing he had no choice Salen peacefully followed his captor. When Wilson turned to go upstairs instead of back down to the basement Salen hesitated.
"Wh...where are we going?"
"We're trying something new today." Wilson grinned.
Terrified of the tone in Wilson's voice Salen refused to continue forward. Wilson's smile disappeared and he narrowed his eyes at the young Vulcan. He demanded that Salen follow him, but Salen found himself glued to his spot at the bottom of the stairs. Snarling in anger Wilson lashed out and grabbed a fist full of Salen's hair.
Trying to escape Wilson's painful grip Salen grabbed his wrist with both hands. No match for Wilson's strength Salen was hauled forcefully up the stairs. Wilson brought him to a small bedroom and threw him to the floor. Salen went to get up, but only got as far as his knees.
"Don't bother standing, just put you hands behind your back."
Sighing heavily Salen did as he was told. He chewed on his bottom lip nervously as Wilson restrained his wrists with a strip of cloth. Wilson checked a few other things in the room which had been decorated in deep warm colors. The room looked comfortable and inviting, but Salen doubted that this was meant to be his new home.
"Behave yourself, Vulcan."
"I do not understand."
"You will."
Salen's stomach twisted painfully at Wilson's dark chuckle. Wilson left, once again locking the door with a grating click. Salen looked around, but decided that standing was a bad idea. He wasn't sure how long he spent kneeling on the floor before he heard voices. He looked over his shoulder as Wilson returned with a middle aged man and a young beautiful woman.
The woman walked directly to the bed and sat down. She looked completely disinterested in what was going on and she certainly seemed out of place in Wilson's house. Salen had never seen a human female before and found himself staring at her. She glanced down at him and shook her head sadly.
"Please help me..." Salen whispered. "I want to go home."
"Same here, Kid." The woman sighed and looked up at the men. "I don't normally do house calls, I still expect to get paid if this doesn't work."
"It will." Wilson smiled broadly. "Have fun."
Salen's confusion turned to fear when he felt Wilson's heavy hand on his shoulder. The flash of a knife blade automatically made him tense. Wilson snaked his hand into Salen's hair and pulled his head back. Reaching over Salen's shoulder he sank the knife point into his chest. Salen whimpered in pain as Wilson drew the knife up his chest in a diagonal line. Unlike other cuts he'd received this one was slow, and far more than just skin deep.
Wilson released his captive. He put the large knife down on the night stand and left the room without another word. Panting heavily Salen looked down at the bright green slash across his chest that was dripping green blood down his abdomen. Even though he was used to the sight of his own blood this time he felt dizzy and nauseous from the gore.
"That's disgusting." The woman said distastefully. "I am not kissing you if you drink that."
"I didn't bring you here to kiss." The man spat. "If I want you to open your mouth I'll let you know, until then keep it shut bitch."
Salen didn't understand why the man was treating the woman with such disrespect, nor why she didn't appear to care. She rolled her eyes and laid down on the bed. Salen thought it was an unusual time and place for a nap. His attention was brought back to the man as he knelt down in from of him.
Salen gasped sharply as the man leaned in and hesitantly licked the blood off of his chest. Horrified Salen went to stand, however the man sunk his teeth into the injury to keep him down. Fighting harder Salen jerked back and got to his feet. He was about to rush the man when the piercing sound that always managed to cut through him rang out.
"Wilson told me you might not hold still." The man chuckled, as he displayed the device Wilson had given him. "Stay down and I'll stop, or I'll just keep this on until I'm finished here."
Sinking to his knees Salen ground his teeth together against the pain. He tried to block it out, knowing that a trained Vulcan should be able to over come such a simple thing as a sound. Failing he simply stayed on his knees with his head bowed in hopes of receiving some mercy.
The man did turn off the sound so Salen conceded to remain still. He weld his eyes shut as the man returned to drinking from the cut in his chest. Bile coated his tongue as Salen struggled to keep himself from retching. When the man ran his hands over Salen's blood slicked body Salen cringed and shivered in disgust.
The reason behind why Wilson wanted his blood was not something Salen had ever known before now. When the man had his fill he got to his feet and headed over to the bed. Relieved just to have the lecherous man away from him Salen leaned forward and vomited. He wasn't sure why it mattered, but felt far more violated than when Wilson simply collected his blood and left.
Salen spent a moment trying to control his emotions before looking up. Unsure of what he was witnessing Salen's eyes widened in shock. The man had torn off both his own and the woman's clothing and had her pinned to the bed under him. Sweat rolled off his mottled skin as he panted and moaned while driving the young woman harder into the soft bed.
"D...don't hurt her." Salen pleaded.
Salen ducked as the man winged a discarded leather shoe at him. Unsure of what to do Salen continued to watch in horror and growing disgust. It took him a moment, but he eventually came to the conclusion that they were participating in some form of matting ritual. The man suddenly tensed and roared in what Salen mistook as pain.
Getting off the woman he gathered his clothing and left. Completely confused Salen turned his attention to the woman. She sat up slowly and made a noise of frustration when she found that her shirt had been stained with Salen's blood. Rolling her eyes she put it on anyway.
"Excuse me? Are you okay, Bitch?"
"My name's not 'bitch'." The woman hissed.
"I am sorry, I thought I heard him refer to you by that name."
"Yeah, well he's an asshole." The woman sighed before looking over at Salen with a sad smile. "My name is Andra."
"It is nice to meet you, Andra. Are you hurt?"
"No. I'm fine."
"No offense, Andra, but human mating rituals are...not very pleasant."
"That wasn't 'mating', Honey, that was just fucking."
"I do not understand."
"How old are you?" She asked suddenly.
"I think I am fifteen. It is not easy for me to keep track of time."
"I take it you're a prisoner." Andra said sympathetically.
"Yes."
"Where are your parents?"
"Dead...murdered."
Andra inspected Salen for a moment. In hopes that he had found someone that might actually help him Salen forced a shy smile. Still sitting on the bed Andra looked at Salen with an expression of pity on her beautiful face.
"What's your name?"
"Salen."
"I'll tell you what, Salen, when I get back to the city I'll tell a friend of mine in the Force that you're here."
"Force?"
"Police. They'll get you home."
"Thank you, thank you so much." Tears of joy slipped down Salen's face. "I...I can not express how much that would mean to me, to my life. I do not wish to die here, I do not even truly wish to live here."
"No problem."
Andra smiled and went to put the rest of her clothes on. Salen stiffened in fright as Wilson came back into the room. He was surprised to see that Andra wasn't fearful of Wilson in the slightest. In fact she looked up and held out her hand expectantly.
"I'm just going to leave it on the table," Wilson said "I'd rather not touch you...I know where you've been."
"Fuck you." Andra grumbled.
Wilson smiled and went over to the table. Instead of laying anything down on it he snatched up the green stained knife that he'd left on the night stand. Turning to Andra he lashed out at her with the speed of a snake and cut open her throat. Falling to the floor Andra looked up at Salen in shock and fear as she began to bleed out. Salen was left frozen in shock and couldn't even move as he watched the light leave her eyes.
"Andra!"
Back in the present Salen jerked awake from the memory turned nightmare. The fresh cut over the old wound was throbbing painfully. Trying to push the thoughts of Andra's bloody murder out of his mind Salen peered out from his place under the jail cell bed. Two men came into the cell and made motions for Salen to come out from his hiding place.
"No." Salen shook his head. "I require a translation tablet for the deaf and an explanation before I will be willing to move from this location."
Disinterested in Salen's demands the men came in to physically remove him. Fear and anger made Salen react without thinking. When one of the men reached under the bed he did the only thing he could think of to defend himself, he bit him. The guard or whoever he was jerked his hand out from under the bed with an expression of pain. The other pulled out a phaser.
"Wait, please do not!" Salen cried. "I will come pea..."
It was took late for any apologies or acts of submission. The flash of the phaser was followed by a paralyzing pain that lead to an inky darkness. Salen woke with a groan, feeling disoriented. It took himself a moment to understand that he was sitting in a chair with his arms and head resting on a table. Sitting up he pulled at the short length of ion chain that kept his wrists attached to the bolted down table. Glancing around he found himself in a small featureless room with a single door.
"Hello?" Salen called. "I want to know what is happening."
At first Salen feared that no one was going to answer his call. However after several minutes the door opened and a man backed into the room. When he turned around Salen jumped up and tried to free himself from the desk. Salen tugged uselessly at the ion cuffs as Beckett sat down in the chair that was on the far side of the bare metal table.
"Stay away from me!"
Beckett gave Salen a sympathetic look and brought out a translating tablet. He motioned for Salen to sit down and read the tablet. Salen resisted the idea at first, but eventually he sat down. Beckett pushed the tablet across the table to Salen. After glaring at Beckett Salen looked down at the screen.
'I'm here to help you, Salen.'
"I do not believe you. Even if it is true, I do not wish your help." Salen growled. "I know my rights, I want a Starfleet Officer here to represent and assist me."
'That's me, Kid.' Beckett forced a sad smile and flashed his Starfleet ID. 'No one else is willing to work with a Vulcan that has proven that he can be violent.'
"I have done no such thing."
'You bit a cop.' Beckett pointed out.
"I want to talk to my father. I have a right to contact Admiral Pike."
'True, but you might want to hear me out before you do.'
"There is nothing you can say that will make me not want to speak to my father." Salen hissed.
'Salen, your Daddy can't help you.' Beckett tapped on the tablet to make sure Salen was reading it. 'You are in a great deal of trouble, Son. I can help you, but only if you let me.'
"Why am I in trouble?" Salen demanded. "Langin attacked me, I did what I had to."
'You had to murder him?'
Salen read the tablet and looked up at Beckett in horror. Shaking his head in disbelief Salen tugged at his restraints. With his heart racing painfully he read the tablet again, in hopes that he had made a mistake. No matter how many times he read it the word 'murder' jumped out at him.
"No, no, no... No, I...I did not murder Langin. I wanted to, but I did not. I left him alive."
'The evidence points to a different story.' Beckett brought out another smaller tablet. 'Langin was found at the base of the cliff near the Academy grounds with your blood on him, and samples taken from your fingernails showed his blood on you.'
Salen gasped sharply as Beckett brought up an image of Langin's broken and beaten corpse laying among the mossy rocks. Mixed in with the congealing dull red blood there were smears of bright green blood that also stained his skin and torn clothing. Finding it hard to believe Salen reached out to touch the image.
"How did this happen?" Salen whispered to himself.
Beckett had to push the tablet closer to get Salen's attention.
'I was hoping you could tell me, Salen. Right now, everyone seems to think that you and Langin had an argument, and you threw him off the cliff.'
"He drugged me and dragged me out into the woods to torture me. He took my hearing from me, cut my chest open. I broke free of the ion restraints, I am not sure how, and fought back. I left him cowering at the base of a tree."
'Why didn't you go straight to Starfleet with this?'
"I was frightened, I had lost a great deal of blood. I was not thinking clearly."
'So you brought fellow Cadet and studying doctor Joanna McCoy into this mess instead?'
"Please, leave Joanna out of this." Salen begged. "I should not have gone to her for help."
'Why did you?'
"I felt safe with her." Salen admitted quietly.
'If you end up convicted of murder she will be in danger of being brought up on aiding and abetting charges.'
"No!" Salen cried. "I...I forced her to help me. I told her that I would kill her if she did not heal my wound."
'Perhaps if you hadn't been found half naked in her dorm room the next morning there would be some hope of a jury believing that lie. As it is you still have her lipstick stain on your face.'
Salen finished reading Beckett's words to him and instantly reached up to rub off the incriminating pink off his skin. Panicking for Joanna's safety Salen was starting to have difficulty breathing. He absent mindedly pulled at his restraints and searched the room for an escape. Beckett brought his attention back to the tablet.
'I am the only one here who can help you.'
"My father..."
'Doesn't have half the pull in Starfleet that I do.' Beckett pointed out. 'Do not think that anyone is going to give you leniency because you are an Admiral's son. The charges against you are serious, and the evidence against you is over whelming.'
"What is going to happen to me?"
'If you are convicted the usual sentence would be exile to a prison planet for manual labor, being deaf you would probably not survive a week there. So it would basically be a death sentence even though the Federation says they do not believe in them. However...since you are a Vulcan male, an endangered species, I believe that the Vulcan Council will demand that you be handed over to them on Natala.'
"Natala has no prisons."
'You would most likely be held in the underground facility that the Vulcan's built when they believed there was an illness killing the males. I am not sure if it would be a worse fate than a prison planet or not.'
"I do not understand."
'Salen, you will be used as breeding stock. They will do nothing to restore your hearing, it would not be logical to waste such effort on you. You will be caged like an animal until needed.'
Trembling violently Salen bowed his head and allowed tears to slip down his face. He was having trouble processing the idea that he had lost his freedom. The thought that Joanna might pay for his poor decisions as well was twisting his stomach in a knot. Unable to rein in his emotions Salen pushed his chair away from the table far enough to allow him to duck his head under the table. Retching violently he fought for breath.
Salen jerked and fell out of his chair as Beckett put his hand on his shoulder. Still tied to the table by the ion chains Salen fought against them like a fish hooked on a line. Beckett picked up the over turned chair and helped Salen sit back down. Beckett put the translator tablet in Salen's hands and tapped on it.
'I want to help you, Salen.'
"No one can help me. I have no proof that I did not murder Langin, I only have my word."
'Then give me your word, Salen. Swear to me that you didn't kill Langin.'
"I did not murder Langin."
'I believe you. I can fix this, if you let me.'
"What do you mean by 'fix this'?"
'I have friends in very high places, and a few in very low places. If one doesn't work the other always pulls through for me.' Beckett smiled. 'I can have you back in Joanna's bed by sundown. I even know a surgeon that might be able to repair your lost hearing. Just say the word and I can reverse the damage done here.'
"Why should you care?"
'I like you, I think you could have a bright future.'
"You want me to reconsider your original offer to work for you." Salen growled.
'I would like that, but it is not a requirement.' Beckett shrugged.
"How do I know that you did not throw Langin off that cliff yourself?"
'Just like you I have no proof that I didn't...however I'm not the one about to face a jury on the matter.'
"I want to speak to my father." Salen said stubbornly.
'Talking to Admiral Pike will make my job nearly impossible. Part of the deal will have to be that you never tell him about this, getting these charges dropped without a public trial will not be exactly...legal. I will have to pull some tight strings and grease some clean palms.'
"Once again you wish me to keep secrets from my father. I will not."
'I think you need some time to think about your situation.'
Salen read the tablet and pushed it away. Beckett nodded and called in a guard who took Salen back to the same small cell he'd spent the night in. Once behind the cold bars again Salen began to feel himself falling prey to fear once more. He jumped as Beckett tapped his shoulder through the cage door. When Salen turned around Beckett handed him the translation tablet.
'I'll come back tomorrow, you can see me or you can ask to see your father. The choice is yours.'
"I still do not understand why you are doing this for me."
'I like you, Salen, I believe that you didn't kill Langin. I honestly don't want you to end up a prisoner of the Vulcans, fathering children you'll never meet.'
"I am used to that." Salen growled bitterly.
'True. I also I have a deep respect for Admiral Pike and I know it would break his heart to lose you like this. Not to mention the damage this will do to Joanna McCoy's future.'
"Please, do not bring Joanna into this."
'I didn't...you did.'
