Chapter 5

After a lovely dinner with his wife and daughter, Madred had a restful sleep. His alarm roused him and he prepared for work. He was eager to see if the human had been able to turn off the device. He had never had anyone accomplish it before, but he had high hopes for this one. He had put the device on a timer as a precaution anyway; five hours and it would turn off. That would give the prisoner a few hours of sleep. Madred knew that if you pushed someone past a certain limit, then they would prefer death to cooperation. Picard was close to that point so had given him the few hours' sleep and was going to feed and water him today. It was another very effective trick…wear a person down to the point of hopelessness and then offer them kindness. It worked wonders in cracking walls and confused prisoners even more at what was real or imagined.

Madred found Picard at the far wall in a heap. He was asleep or had passed out. Madred carried a tray of food and sat it on the desk. The clank of metal tray on metal desk did not stir the human. Madred sat down at his desk and retrieved a boiled tespa egg off the tray for himself, putting it on a small stand in front of him. Tap, tap, tap…the sound of the metal tool cracking the eggshell finally got the human's attention and he opened his eyes, blinking to clear his vision. "Ah, you're awake!" Madred said happily. "Here. Have something to eat. I insist."

Picard was too weak to move. Madred stood up and walked over to the listless form. "Here, I'll help you." Madred gently put his hands under Picard's arms and helped him to his feet. The human wobbled. Madred held him up as they walked over to the chair, which Madred had moved in front of the desk. "Have a seat. I'm sure you're hungry."

The exertion left the captain out of breath and dizzy, but the food in the face of starvation was a powerful motivator. Madred slid an egg towards Picard and handed over his egg tool. "Boiled tespa egg. It's a delicacy that I'm happy to share with you." Madred could see fatigue, hunger, despair in the human's eyes – exactly what he wanted to see. Good.

Picard leaned forward and took the tool. His arm was so heavy that he had to rest his elbow on the desktop. His stomach started to growl with the anticipation of anything to eat. But anticipation turned to revulsion when Picard got the top of the eggshell off to reveal a live embryo squirming inside. The disgusting creature's eyes looked up at him and its tentacles slithered to the edge of the shell. It was sickening. Picard looked from the creature, to Madred, and back. You have to be kidding me, he thought, then dumped the contents into his mouth.

"Good! Good! I like you human!" The Cardassian was pleased that the human had swallowed the creature. "Most people become ill at the sight of live tespa."

Picard swallowed the wiggling, slimy mass whole and nearly retched. He could feel it moving down to his stomach like a salty slug.

"I remember the first time I ate a live tespa egg," said Madred as he pushed a plate of cooked food and a cup of water toward the human. "I was six years old and living on the streets of Macat. We were thin, scrawny little animals trying desperately to survive. We huddled together in doorways like wild gettals for warmth. Tespas had mated and built a nest in the eaves of a burnt out building. Finding the eggs was like finding treasure. I broke one open and ate it on the spot very much as you just did. Then an older boy saw them and wanted them. And he got them, but he had to break my arm to do it."

Picard listened as he wolfed down the food and water. He swallowed most of it whole since the bruises on his face and the damage to his teeth had made chewing difficult. The food had come just in the nick of time. After the previous night, Picard had had serious doubts of his ability to take any more. This made him feel a little better. "It must be rewarding to you to repay others for all those years of misery."

The Cardassian tilted his head, clearly puzzled by the remark. "What do you mean?"

"Torture has never been a reliable means of extracting information. It is self-defeating as a means of control. Torture someone enough and they will say whatever you want them to say. It is a wonder it is still practiced." Picard's voice was soft and raspy.

"I fail to see where this analysis is leading," Madred said with annoyance in his voice.

Picard set the plate down on the desk. "Whenever I look at you now, I won't see a powerful Cardassian warrior. I will see a six year old boy who is powerless to protect himself."

In a fury, Madred slammed his hand down on the table activating the lights above the desk. "Be quiet!"

Picard turned his head away from the glare. "Despite all you've done to me, I find you a pitiable man." He pitied the man, but he also hated him.

The Cardassian was in a rage now. "Picard, stop it, or I'll turn this on and leave you in agony all day!"

Picard immediately caught the Cardassian's mistake and laughed out loud. "You called me Picard!" he said pointing his finger at Madred.

"What are the Federation's defense plans for Minos Corva?!" The tension was rising.

"There are FOUR lights!"

That was it. Madred jabbed a button on the desk and the doors behind Picard slid open to produce two guards striding towards him. They grabbed his arms and yanked him to his feet and towards the bracket on the ceiling. Oh no. One guard punched the captain in the gut and Picard doubled over and to his knees, vomiting up the food he had just eaten. Hauled roughly back up again by the arms, one guard held him while the other ripped off the orange jumpsuit.

"No." Picard heard the word from his mouth but couldn't remember saying it.

His hands were once again shackled and attached to the bracket. Pain seared down his wrists to his shoulders. The bracket raised him onto his toes. "No, you bastard. You cannot hurt me!"

"You are a stubborn, arrogant fool!" Madred hissed in Picard's face. "See how an entire day in agony affects your level of cooperation!"

Picard's heart, breathing, and mind were racing. "You are six years old, weak and helpless! You cannot hurt me!" If Madred was going all out, then so was he. He didn't care if it killed him. Death was better than this. Anger at the absurdity of it all, rage, hatred, fear, despair, hatred, hatred… All this welled up at the moment Madred had pushed the button and left the room. The pain was an unbelievable stabbing pain that radiated from his stomach outward. Picard screamed in agony. "You cannot hurt me, damn you!" Waves of incomprehensible pain shredded his thin grasp on coherent though, and he screamed the screams of a man dying.

Madred told the guard to take the prisoner down at 07:00 hours. He would finish with him shortly there after. At the designated time, the guards entered the interrogation room. The human was hanging where they had left him screaming three hours earlier. He was unconscious now, hanging heavily but twitching reflexively to the devices impulses. They turned it off and the human seemed to sag more. He was somehow still alive. Once unhooked from the bracket, they dropped him to the floor and removed his shackles. There was no fight in this one anymore. He was nearly dead.

It took a few minutes on the freezing floor for Picard to come to a semi conscious state. His eyes were open but saw nothing...Nothing really mattered anymore. He couldn't take it anymore.

The doors opened and Madred strode in. He tapped Picard with his boot. "Wake up." He said it in a gentle voice. Although the captain wasn't looking at him, Madred knew he was listening. "I wanted to inform you that there has been a battle. The Enterprise is burning in space. The invasion of Minos Corva has been a success despite your lack of cooperation."

"Don't…believe you…" Picard said in no more than a whisper.

"No matter. It will be reported that you were lost in the battle. No one will know you are here, as you will be for a long, long time." He paused dramatically. "You do, however, have a choice. You can choose to spend the rest of your days here, subject to my whims. Or you can choose to live your life out in comfort. Warm clothes, good food, women as you desire them, free to pursue your studies in archaeology and history… I would enjoy debating with you. You have a keen mind. It's up to you."

Picard turned his eyes to look up at him wearily from the floor, naked, cold, done for. "What must I do?"

"Nothing really...Tell me…How many lights do you see?" He glanced up at the four lights above him. "How many?" His tone was gentle, compassionate, seductive.

Picard lay unmoving on the floor but looked up at the lights. This was his chance. Could he live with himself if he broke? That didn't matter much anymore. The image of Beverly flashed in his mind and he wavered. I'm sorry, Beverly. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Guilt welled in him as the last shreds of resolve snapped under the weight of his anguish, but just as the last thread was about to give way, he noticed something odd with the lights. His eyes were playing tricks on him. The number of lights changed from four to five. What? Had there been five all along? He didn't know anymore. Picard stared in confusion.

Madred's demeanor changed as the doors slid open. There was an urgency in his voice. "How many do you see? This is your last chance. The guards are coming. Don't be a stubborn fool! How many?!"

Picard heard a new voice. "What is going on here? You said he would be ready. A ship is waiting to take him back to the Enterprise!"

"We had some unfinished business," Madred said.

The new soldier told the guards to get Picard to his feet. They picked him up by his arms but he could barely stand, knees buckling weakly. He let them support most of his weight, and despite the pain their grips caused in his biceps, his interest in the latest development was piqued. Was the Enterprise still safe? Was this another trick?

"Get him cleaned up," the soldier snapped at Madred. To Picard: "Captain Picard, you are free to go. If you go with the guards, they will take care of you."

The whole immense senselessness of the past few days boiled down to this moment. The lies, the pain, the anger, the unspeakable cruelty... it caused a fresh surge of adrenaline through the captain and brought him back from the precipice upon which he teetered. Picard clenched his teeth in range and shook loose the guards, staggering but staying on his feet. With the remaining strength and willpower he had left, he straightened himself to his full height and looked at the lights. There were five. Then he looked at Madred, all the pain and rage etched in his face. "THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!" he screamed. God damn you...

Madred nodded to Picard, impressed with this human's will. A small grin spread across his lips as he watched the captain turn and walk unsteadily, but on his own, towards the door.

What happened next was like a half-remembered dream. The guards led Picard down the corridor to what looked like a medical bay. Picard stopped at the door not wanting to go in, but a guard pushed him in. He stumbled and fell, landing on his hands and knees. The guards hauled him back to his feet. Anger swelled in the captain, but he had no strength to react. Another Cardassian stood in front of him with a look of annoyed pity. Was he a doctor?

"What…?" Despite his fury, Picard's voice was not more than a raspy whisper – screaming for hours had taken its toll.

"We have to deactivate the device," the doctor said indicating the scar on Picard's chest. "This will self-destruct the device. You may feel some discomfort." He approached casually with a metal tool. The guards restrained the captain by the arms as the doctor activated the tool and aimed it at the incision. A piercing pain seared at the incision point, and what felt like, deep into his chest cavity. His knees went weak and he grimaced and moaned. Luckily, the guards held him up until he recovered enough to support his own weight again. The doctor handed Picard another orange jumpsuit. "Put this on unless you want to be naked for the rest of the transport."

"Where is Dr. Crusher?" Picard demanded weakly. He was taking too long struggling into the jumpsuit, so the guards took over and quickened the pace. He hated their hands on him.

"You are the only one here."

"Madred said he had the human female, Dr. Crusher," Picard insisted.

"There is no one else here." This Cardassian looked him squarely in the eye with none of the cruelty he had seen from the others. This man seemed different, almost compassionate...Finally, the truth? There was no way for Picard to know, but the man seemed sincere. He continued to look at the man as the guards finished roughly dressing him. They didn't bother with shoes.

"Please tell me."

"That is the truth," the Cardassian said as the guards spun Picard towards the door. Picard glanced over his shoulder to see the Cardassian still gazing at him almost compassionately.

The guards escorted him roughly to the transporter room and up onto the pads where he swayed unsteadily when they released their steely grips on his arms. Within seconds, the transporter beam enveloped him, and he was transported to the waiting ship. The angry faces of one set of soldiers was replaced by another set on the ship. Once the beam released Picard, the soldiers marched up on the platform and manhandled him off the transporter pad by the arms. Without a word, they marched him with an unsympathetic pace down the corridor. Picard tried to keep his feet under him, but he was too weak to keep up. They ended up dragging him, supporting his weight by vice grips on his upper arms. Picard could feel their fingers digging into his biceps, each of the soldiers' footfalls jolting through him with each crack of their heels.

The soldiers stopped at a holding cell and one of them pushed in a code in the keypad next to the forcefield door. "I need water," Picard said to the guards as he struggled to regain his footing. No response. "I said… I need water." Speaking was an incredible effort, and his voice was no more than a raspy whisper.

When the forcefield blinked off, they shoved Picard into the holding cell where he once again stumbled and fell, landing on his face despite his best efforts to protect himself. The impact split his right eyebrow, hot blood starting to drip into his eye. White hot rage flared in him. "Aghhhh!" he yelled in frustrated fury and glared up at them, teeth clenched. If he could have killed them, he would have.

The guards were not impressed. "Sink with water. Lavatory. Bed. Food." One guard pointed to each as he listed the amenities, tossed some sort of nutrition bar at him, and then they both left. The forcefield blinked to life with a reddish glow.

Picard struggled to his knees watching drips of blood spatter on the hard floor between his hands. Sheer anger got him to his feet and he stuck his mouth under the sink faucet drinking greedily from his cupped hands for what seemed like minutes. He had heard that one shouldn't give a starving person too much too soon, but his thirst ignored that. The water that spilled over his cupped hands into the basin turned red from blood dripping freely from the cut on his brow. Noticing this, he tried to wash the blood out of his eye and to stop the bleeding, but the water merely diluted the blood. He pulled the sleeve of his jumpsuit into his fist and held it firmly against his eyebrow to stop the bleeding. As he kept the pressure constant, he dropped to his knees and found the nutrition bar on the floor with his other hand. They had not even bothered to wrap it and it was covered with dirt where it had touched the floor. He didn't care and bit into it on the side of his mouth that did not have teeth knocked loose. It was stale and hard, and he was barely able to chew it even on his good side. He managed to get back on his feet and prop himself against the wall next to the sink where he held the nutrition bar under the running water in the sink to soften it. That made it easier to chew. Whatever it was, though, hit his stomach hard. He had not had solid food for a long time. Doubled over in cramps, he lurched over to the "bed", which was actually more of a shelf, and curled up on it in a fetal position on his side. The cold metal felt good against his side...it was the only relief he had had in a long time. Pulling his hand away from his brow and dabbing it lightly, he saw that the cut had nearly stopped bleeding. The pain in his stomach was demanding his attention now, and he held his stomach with both arms waiting for the pain and nausea to subside. Resting his swelling brow on the cold metal, Picard closed his eyes and exhaled in exhaustion. Free from Madred's torment, he felt his body begin to relax, his muscles jerking involuntarily. Finally, utter Exhaustion gripped him and he fell into a deep sleep.

"Wake up!" Madred was standing over him holding the controller to the pain device. "I think you were just about to break, so I think we should finish the job. You're a pathetic creature! You can't take more of the pain. You really thought you were going back to your ship?!" Picard jerked awake in alarm, eyes darting around in disbelief. He was back in the chair in front of the lights. "How many lights are there?!" How did he get back here? Had he been dreaming again?

"No, you can't do this."

"Do you know what it feels like to have your blood boil, human? Guards, hang him back up." Guards came in, locking his wrists in the cuffs. He tried to fight, but his body wouldn't answer. No, no, no ,no, no

"How many lights are there?!" Madred slapped him across the face once...then again…then he pushed the red button.

"There are…. five lights!" Picard screamed. "Five lights!...five lights…"

"I said, wake up!"

Picard jerked awake on the shelf/bed in the holding cell, wide-eyed, gasping, and disoriented. The Cardassian soldier who had been shaking him stepped back, a little startled by the human's sudden reaction. "Come with me. We've rendezvoused with your ship."

Picard looked at him confused, still not sure of what was happening.

"I said to get up!" the Cardassian commanded angrily.

Breathing heavily, sweating, and hoping this was real and not the nightmare, Picard slowly shifted his feet to the floor and tried to stand up. His whole body ached, but the thought of getting back to the Enterprise gave him the adrenaline to make himself move. The guard grew impatient with his slow pace and roughly grabbed Picard by the shirt collar. "Don't touch me!" growled Picard angrily through clenched teeth. In an attempt to keep the soldier from pulling him, he gripped the Cardassian's wrist with both hands. It was the wrong thing to do. The soldier yanked the captain out of the holding cell and slammed him forcefully against the corridor wall outside, never losing his grip on the man's collar.

"Get your hands off me, human!" He slapped the unruly prisoner across the face hard with his free hand. Picard let go of the soldier's wrist, face stinging. Before he could think, the guard had resumed his march down the corridor, dragging his prisoner along by the collar. Somehow, perhaps out of sheer rage, Picard stayed upright as they entered the nearby transporter room. The guard pulled him into the transporter room and jerked him by the collar onto the transporter platform. Picard barely had his balance when the sound of Chief O'Brian's voice over the comm channel made his heart leap. Could this actually be real? He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and hear it in his ears. Part of him expected this to be a dream from which he would awake to a Cardassian boot in his side.

"Ready to transport. You have the coordinates," the chief said.

"Transporting." The dark reddish atmosphere of the Cardassian ship was replaced with the clear, crisp Enterprise transporter room. Picard's heart leapt in his chest as the transporter beam released him and he saw O'Brian at the transporter controls. He swayed on the platform unsteadily, afraid to look around and see it was all another hallucination.

"Jean Luc!" He heard her beautiful voice and turned his head to see her smiling in utter relief as she leapt up the steps towards him. Picard looked at her with fear and confusion in his eyes. Were they really in the Cardassian torture chamber? Was Madred now going to use her against him?

"Jean Luc, you're home." She squeezed his arms as if to confirm he was actually there. He tensed at the touch. "I'm sorry," Crusher said thinking his reaction was from pain. She was overcome with relief and hugged him. "I thought we'd lost you," she whispered to him.

He didn't respond at first, afraid that his affection for her might get her killed, but his relief at seeing her alive overcame that fear. He gradually returned the embrace, eyes filling with tears. Was this real? Crusher broke the embrace after a moment and began waving her medical scanner over him. Her face told it all. "Let's get you to sickbay." Picard was still staring at her in disbelief.

"Chief, beam us directly to sick bay." The nurse who had accompanied Crusher to the transporter room quickly joined them on the transporter pad and helped hold Picard on his feet.

"Of course, Doctor." The chief added, "Captain, it's good to have you back, sir."

The trio rematerialized in sickbay. Beverly was still there. The place felt right, smelled right, looked beautiful...The joy of being home was almost overwhelming, and Picard hugged Crusher again, this time clinging to her like he had his dreams. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he finally allowed himself to believe he was truly home.

"Come on, Jean Luc. Let's get you onto the biobed." Picard reluctantly released his embrace, never taking his eyes off of her. Several orderlies immediately came to their aid, and Picard let them gently lift him onto the bed.

"Jean Luc, just relax. We'll take good care of you. Everything is going to be all right," Beverly said touching her hand on his chest. Her touch was like a sedative. Exhaustion closed in on him and he began to drowse, losing all track of what was happening or for how long. "Jean Luc, this is a sedative to let you sleep while we remove this implant." He felt a hiss of a hypospray on his neck and succumbed to a welcome, dreamless rest.