Chapter 7 (Susan Ivanova)
The leaked documents that happened to 'fall' into Susan's lap had been more than she prayed for. She was face to face with a huge Centauri transport full of valuable cargo. Cargo to steal.
She grinned at the thought of the marvellous profit she could make from the transport that was pathetically trying to escape.
"Disable that damn ship, I don't want to waste fuel catching up with it." She crossed her legs and smoothed her hands over her leather skirt and down her dry, itchy legs, feeling the need for some skin cream once she delivered the cargo to one of the deep hyperspace cities.
Cargo shipments had become a booming business throughout alien worlds and stealing them was a risky business. Susan had been doing this most of her life and it had turned into a career she was good at. She preferred to steal from the Minbari, but at the end of the day, money came first. Centauri cargo ships were easy prey, for now.
A few sparks of plasma drifted through space and struck the engines of the cargo ship, leaving it dead in space. Just waiting for me to collect.
"This is the Centauri transport Alcart. You are illegally attacking Centauri property, which is an act of war!" The captain's vidscreen image appeared mad to Susan, but she also sensed the fear in his voice. It was all she needed to increase the effectiveness of her plan.
Most cargo captains who were unlucky enough to get caught by raiders were normally killed. As soon as Susan identified herself as a human collection agent, he released a sigh of relief. But he still acted stubborn.
"Listen, I know you humans are bound by rules to not harm the inhabitants of ships you capture, but this is my vessel and I'll do what I can to keep it."
Susan raised her eyebrow. "If you want, you can declare war on humanity and send a fleet of ships to Earth." Her tone turned sarcastic. "Ho, wait. It's not there anymore, so shut up and surrender, otherwise I will vent your sorry ass into space and take your cargo!"
She cut the channel and ordered her vessel on a docking trajectory, with the ease of long practice. Her vessel's grappler claws grabbed the Centauri cargo ship and locked it tight.
Several minutes later, when all the detainees were placed into holding cells, Susan marched down the passageways of her vessel. This cargo ship and its goods will fetch a good price. She finally walked into the brig that resembled a zoo.
"How long do you intend to keep us waiting? We're loyal servants of Centauri Prime and they'll get a full report about this human behaviour." The gruff Centauri stood out like a spot on a well-polished plate. Susan wasn't in the mood for games.
"I'll dump you on the nearest habitable planet and -" She let the silence hang for a bit. "- I might let your home-world know of your location."
She walked further into the stuffy room that smelled of Centauri booze and terrible body odour. "Now, what are you carrying and is any of it dangerous?"
The Centauri sat down with his comrades and said nothing. His silence was all Susan needed. She felt frustrated and wanted that damn skin cream.
"You won't talk? Fine. Guards?" With a gesture, Susan ordered her guards into the cell. They moved in with urgent steps, and grabbed the commanding Centauri. They dragged him into the neighbouring room for Susan's little surprise while the atmosphere became stifling. Susan deliberately raised the temperature to provoke a more 'relaxed' attitude. She loved playing cruel games and in her own sick way, she could sense the Centauri begging for her attention.
Susan paced the room and pulled out a bloodstained table, which locked into place. The air filled with an undertone of metallic taste and the smell was of putrefied flesh. She could imagine the stench that lingered in the Centauri's nose.
"Pull out one of his genitals," she said over the hum of the running ventilation system. She went over to the control panel and turned it off. She didn't want the air cleaned. Not cleaned yet.
Hollowness haunted the Centauri's eyes as he looked with shock and disbelief. "You aren't going to do that? I know you humans."
She didn't even have to think about the question. She grabbed a thick-bladed cleaver from the counter of tools and waved it in the air. Her body language demonstrated her resolve better than words and she let the Centauri dwell on that for a few seconds.
Almost immediately, the Centauri began to struggle as the guards dragged him over and pinned him to the table; the guards pulled one of his genitals and placed the horrid thing onto the bloodstained steel.
Susan glanced down at the tool and rammed it as hard as she could towards the table. She didn't even give a warning. She'd already asked him the question and he'd messed around with her. Now Susan enjoyed the blood and screams.
A roar of cries drained out all background noise as the Centauri fell off the table and cowered on the floor like an upside down insect; he looked as if this kind of pain was new to him. Susan surmised that this Centauri was pampered and worshiped back on their home world; he had one less genital to share now.
She walked closer to him, his clothes stained with blood, sweat poured from his head. The smell was worse.
"Tell me what I want to know or I will chop off another one." She raised her weapon in plain view.
The Centauri trembled in agony and fear. "I… I'll tell you everything -just don't hurt me again!'
Susan could finally finish the 'interrogation' and get back to more important tasks. The Centauri was about to tell them everything and she had more important engagements to attend to. But she could not resist adding a little bit more to the Centauri's suffering. "Make sure you store that piece of meat in the ice freezer. The pak'ma'ra might want to trade for it. Last I remember, Centauri genitalia was a delicacy."