Krypteia

Summary: "If I am senior I will take command." - from Article 4, Code of Conduct

Disclaimer: Same as before…

Badlands
Cardassian Territory
Lieutenant Commander Ashley Degler
January 11, 2374
Stardate 51041.0

Ashley Degler's eyes tracked the Cardassian soldier pacing up and down the length of the cargo hold, each heavy thud of his boots resonating through the confined space.

She swallowed for the third time in as many minutes as the shuttle bumped along through some more turbulence.

'Fine time to feel queasy.' Ashley chided herself, again. She closed her eyes and then opened them again, shuddering a bit.

Ashley turned her head to whisper into her fellow captive's left ear. "Notice anything?"

Lieutenant Jenna D'Sora turned. "Other than them interrogating us one at a time, sir?"

"Yes. Anything?" Ashley whispered back, a slight sigh of frustration escaping her nose as she tugged against the stiff cuffs around her wrists.

"Well…did the glinn in charge of this vessel…during your interrogation…" D'Sora's voice trembled.

Ashley stifled a gasp. D'Sora cringed and closed her eyes.

Ashley tugged at her restraints again and let out another nasal sigh. 'I can't even offer her a helping hand…'

She leaned forward, casting a glance down the line at her other fellow captives. The half-Vulcan Petty Officer Simon Tarses sat stoically looking ahead. Crewman Whitehurst looked around wide eyed and muttering fearfully.

'I'm it. The senior officer…' Ashley thought, trembling. 'Stop it! This trembling isn't helping…'

She shifted her weight as much as she could, what with her left ankle shackled to the leg of the hard metal bench and her right shackled to D'Sora's left.

Ashley looked to her left, craning her neck to peer around the various hard cases on the far side of the cargo hold. With just a bit more neck strain she could see the door leading out of the cargo bay.

She heard D'Sora gasp to her right. Ashley turned her head just as D'Sora burst into tears. She leaned to her right as far as she could.

D'Sora leaned her head against Ashley's shoulder. A flood of tears.

Heavy footsteps as the Cardassian guard strode towards the shackled prisoners.

"Quiet." The guard hissed before he hit D'Sora in the stomach.

"Leave her alone!" Ashley protested only to catch a slap to the face.

With her ears ringing she barely heard the door open, disgorging another Cardassian soldier. He pointed his rifle at Ashley. "The glinn wants to talk to this one."

Ashley's heart jumped. The Cardassian's finger was on the trigger of the rifle. 'It would be just my luck that he has an accident and blasts me.'

The first Cardassian nodded and then the world went black for Ashley as the second Cardassian draped a black cloth bag over her head.

She felt her right ankle being freed, then her left before she was forced to her feet. The Cardassian grabbed her upper arm and one shoulder before nearly dragging her forward.

As she was frogmarched along her left foot banged against a protrusion in the deck. She yelped in pain.

"Keep moving." The Cardassian glowered. As the door hissed shut, Ashley's heart raced.

Just what would this interrogation bring?

Zippo
Badlands
Cardassian Territory
January 11, 2374
Stardate 51041.0

The vaguely manta shaped craft darted from behind a dust cloud, tailing the Cardassian shuttle from below and behind.

The dark skinned human pilot steered her past plasma jets and debris.

"Let's hope this contraption of yours works, Ug." Nash's eyes narrowed behind the controls.

"Let's hope your piloting skills are up to snuff," Ug replied from the weapon's station behind Nash's position.

Nash stole a look over one shoulder and narrowed his eyes.

Ug snorted a nasal laugh and tapped the communicator on his left wrist. "Udeski, you boys ready?"

"Ready."

"We're ready," Ug replied with a toothy grin. 'Boy are those Serpents gonna get a surprise.'

Cardassian Shuttle
Corridors
Badlands

Ashley swayed to one side and the other on unsteady legs as the ship shuddered. Unfortunately, the veritable vice grip on her left tricep hadn't let up. Neither had the ache in her left foot.

She winced, pain shooting up her leg with each step.

'Not that I'd get too far with my hands tied and blindfolded.' Ashley thought glumly.

A right turn and then they stopped. Then a chime sounded. "Yes?"

"I have the prisoner you requested, sir."

"Bring her in."

Ashley staggered forward, pushed by the Cardassian. Her left ankle throbbed as she half hobbled along.

"Please have a seat," the glinn said.

Ashley was roughly seated in a chair and several heavy duty cloth restraining tapes were strapped across her waist and across her chest.

Her legs were spread apart and strapped to the front legs of the chair.

The bag was yanked off her head, and she blinked against the bright light shining in her face.

"Lieutenant Commander Ashley Degler, it's good to see you again," the rather oily voice of the Cardassian glinn began.

Ashley squinted as she tried to peer past the circular bright light crowding her field of vision. She turned her head to one side, towards the door.

The glinn turned the light off. Ashley blinked several times as her eyes adjusted to the lower light level with almost reddish hues preferred by Cardassians. The officer held a PADD in his hand, glancing at the screen.

"Lieutenant Commander Ashley Degler, science officer aboard the USS Lyric (NCC-17214). Specialty, exobiology with a sub specialty in anthropology. Have I missed anything?" The Cardassian began, casually angling the PADD, allowing Ashley a glimpse of it.

"You mined the data off the Lyric," Ashley concluded.

"Perceptive. So far this conversation is going better than the oh so dull 'big four'… was it again? Name? Rank? Serial Number? Date of birth?" The Cardassian set the PADD onto the desk.

Ashley clenched her jaw, saying nothing.

"I'm sure you're aware of my people's skill as interrogators, yes?" The Cardassian officer took a step closer to her.

Ashley's breath hitched in her throat. Dully she nodded.

The Cardassian circled her chair once before stopping in front of her.

"I notice both you and Lieutenant D'Sora are quite beautiful for human women." He casually stroked her hair.

Ashley closed her eyes, heart racing.

The Cardassian's fingers deftly reached for the front of her uniform jacket and unzipped it, revealing the blue mock turtleneck beneath it.

Then he stepped back, admiring her before stroking a finger from below her left ear and following the line of her jaw.

"What did you do to her?" Ashley demanded.

"Let's call it foreplay with a bit of foretaste mixed in…" the Cardassian whispered into Ashley's ear.

Ashley cringed, trembling with fear and revulsion.

Zippo
Badlands
Cardassian Territory
January 11, 2374
Stardate 51041.0

Carl Allenby checked the safety and charge on his Bajoran phaser rifle for the twentieth time as he sat on a bench beside the boarding chute's ladder.

He looked to his left to see Cooper doing a function check on the Welrod silenced pistol before he stuck it in a leg holster.

'It's up to Cooper to sort out any sentries, hopefully silently. Then I go up and secure the aft part of the cargo hold, then wait for Bayless and Udeski…' Carl thought, mentally rehearsing his actions on the objective.

To his right Bayless checked his own Welrod, with Udeski checking the Cardassian disruptor rifle.

"Target acquired." Ug's voice echoed over the comm system.

Carl followed close behind Cooper as he put both hands on a ladder rung at his shoulder height and began climbing till he was just below the closed hatch. Cooper had a hand on the butt of the Welrod.

Carl scrambled up behind him, one hand on his phaser rifle's grip.

"I have a lock. Firing!" Ug replied.

"Engaging docking chute…connected." Nash's voice echoed over the comm system.

"Standby." Ug's voice calmly sounded.

Carl put a hand on a concussion grenade. 'If Cooper is hit, I'm throwing one into the hold then we go noisy.'

"Standby."

Carl let a sigh through his nose. 'Time to let those Serpents have it!'

"Go!" Ug's voice resonated.

The cargo hatch and the boarding chute hatch opened simultaneously thanks to an encryption bypass built into the docking clamps.

Cooper shot up the remaining length of ladder as fast as he could go, drawing the Welrod in one smooth motion.

Carl followed Cooper up the ladder just as he hauled himself into the cargo hold and fired twice. Two muffled thumps followed by the sound of a body hitting the deck marked the team's entry.

Carl headed to the rear of the cargo hold, sweeping an arc with his phaser rifle.

To his right he saw three Starfleet personnel, shackled to a bench, hands bound behind their backs.

"Friendlies," he announced, voice steady.

He took stock of the prisoners. A female human lieutenant with mousy brown hair wearing the gold of the engineering or operations division. A male Vulcan petty officer wearing the blue of the science division. A young human male crewman with curly brown hair wearing the red of the command track.

"How many of you?" Carl asked, his tone urgent.

"Four of us," the Lieutenant replied, her eyes red rimmed, jacket unzipped.

'One more prisoner. Hope they're still alive. I know their captors won't be.' Carl thought grimly.

He nodded and with his left hand he gestured for them to be quiet as Bayless and Udeski boarded and headed forward, stacking behind the closed cargo bay exit door.

Carl jammed an isolinear data spike into a control panel near the closed door leading out of the cargo bay.

Bayless fired twice, killing a second Cardassian soldier standing guard in the hallway. Then he and Udeski rushed straight for the cockpit.

Carl turned right, heading towards a closed door while Cooper turned left, heading towards an open one.

After Cooper swept the bunkroom he headed straight for the closed door Carl aimed his weapon at.

Bayless and Udeski rushed the cockpit, killing the Cardassian pilot with shots from Bayless' Welrod.

Carl looked at Cooper and nodded.

Cooper jammed a data spike into the door control panel…

Cardassian Shuttle
Captain's Quarters

Ashley tugged at her bonds to no avail. The Cardassian officer stood over her. He hadn't exactly been shy about where his hands and on occasion his mouth went.

"What do you want from me?" Ashley managed, trembling.

"Well, I'm certain I've shown you what I'm looking for." The Cardassian grinned, his teeth bared in a predatory smile.

Ashley gulped but kept her eyes on her tormentor. 'What had he done to Jenna? What's he gonna do to me?' Ashley thought, mind racing.

"And you do have a choice to decline…however think of the consequences."

A heavy silence filled the room.

"If you decline my offer, it will be Lieutenant D'Sora who shares my bed." The Cardassian gestured to a small bunk on the far bulkhead, equipped with several restraining straps.

Ashley's head snapped towards the bunk, a gasp escaped her lips. 'It's a Sophie's choice I have here…either this sicko has his way with me or Jenna…'

Her heart hammered in her ears as she turned her head back to face the Cardassian. Her captor grinned, a look showing a man holding all the cards.

A fleeting childish fantasy crossed Ashley's mind - a knight in shining armor bursting in to save her from this nightmare…

The door hissed open and suddenly the Cardassian's head snapped back with a strangled cry. His hands flew to his neck as he pulled against the metallic cord around his neck.

A couple more strangled gasps and then the crunch of bones breaking. The Cardassian went limp and collapsed to the deck.

"Vae Victis." The man uttered, voice devoid of emotion. He stood over the body of the lifeless Cardassian, eyes cold and unyielding.

Ashley looked up to see a stoutly built fellow with tousled jet black hair around her own height standing in front of her, tucking the garrote back onto his belt.

"Friendlies, we're here to rescue you." His two brown eyes locked onto hers.

Carl flung the limp body of the Cardassian officer to one side. Directly in front of him was a blonde female Starfleet officer, her outer black and grey jacket unzipped, revealing the blue mock turtleneck of a science or medical officer. Her hands were bound behind her back and she was strapped to a chair.

'Bastard was going to rape her!' Carl's mind raced. 'I'm glad I killed the prick!'

"Hold on, Commander, I'll get you out of those restraints." Carl's tone softened as he approached her. He reached for the knife at his hip and cut into the straps around her waist and chest.

Then he crouched down, cutting into the straps around her ankles. When he cut through the one on her left foot she yelped in pain.

"Can you walk?" He asked, as he looked up to face her.

The Starfleet officer winced and replied, "I…I'm not sure."

Carl reached into his pocket and pulled out a magnetic key. Touching it to the cuffs, the restraints popped open and clattered to the deck.

"Try to stand," Carl said.

The woman nodded. She let out a pained cry when she tried to stand.

"I got you. Lean on me," Carl replied, draping her left arm over his shoulders.

Ashley leaned against the stocky man as he led her along towards the open door of the Cardassian captain's quarters.

She shuddered at the sight of the man's body as a ground swell of revulsion and a tinge of pity hit home.

'I watched him die. He was going to rape me…or Jenna if I refused…'Ashley thought. She shuddered again, hearing the Cardassian's strangled gasps.

The man gently led her out of the Cardassian captain's quarters, supporting most of her weight.

'Get centered. Come on, you're the senior officer.' Ashley urged herself.

"What about the others?" Ashley asked.

"We're getting them out." The man replied as he led her into the corridor past the corpse of the Cardassian guard, now lying on his back with two holes in the center of his face.

As they entered the cargo bay a balding man with a slight paunch and a mustache stood to one side, tapping his wrist mounted communicator. "Ug, this is Udeski, we've got the last of the Starfleet prisoners."

"Who are you people?" Ashley asked.

"We're from Renegade Squadron," her rescuer answered.

"Renegade Squadron?" Ashley's brows furrowed.

"There are three groups - Starfleet. Maquis. Mercenary." The man lightly tapped a diamond shaped patch with a 1% in the center on the sleeve of his jacket as he spoke the last word.

'Our rescuers are mercenaries!' Ashley's mind raced.

'So much for a knight in shining armor…' Ashley thought before she was helped down the ladder into the mercenary starship by both the mercenaries and her fellow Starfleet crewmates.

Risa
Carl Allenby and Ro Laren
10 November 2375
Stardate 52861.6

The waves lapped gently against the shoreline, a soothing contrast to the turmoil Carl had just relived in his mind. He sat at the bar overlooking the beach, the warm Risian sun casting a golden glow on the white sand.

"Carl?" Ro asked.

"Huh?" Carl replied, blinking his eyes and looking back over the seashore.

"You went a little distant just now." Ro observed.

"Just a trip down memory lane," Carl replied, taking another drink.

"You never told me how you came to be friends with Ashley," Ro mused.

"Remember that Cardassian ship we attacked?" Carl asked.

Ro nodded, encouraging.

"She was strapped to a chair. Bound and helpless. The bastard was going to…" Carl's voice trailed off.

Ro put a hand on Carl's shoulder. She saw his fist clench.

"Let's just say I'm glad I got there in time." Carl unclenched his fist.

"Is that when you became friends?" Ro asked.

"Not really. I think she was just grateful to be alive. But somehow we got to talking and getting to know each other." Carl took a pull off his drink.

"So what made you click?" Ro asked.

"I realized there was this inner strength to her balanced by a kind personality and keen intellect," Carl replied.

"Sounds like you found a kindred spirit." Ro grinned.

"I'd say so. I remember how she looked after the other three prisoners we rescued while we took them back to Federation space." Carl replied.

"On another note, what's your plan?" Ro asked.

"For the next 24 hours? Enjoy a few good tropical drinks, contemplate rejoining Starfleet, then do so again tomorrow when I'm sober." Carl took one more pull off his drink, draining the glass.

"There's some weird history fact associated with that, I just know it," Ro quipped.

"Yep. The ancient Persians of Earth's history would think of an idea while drunk and then repeat it when sober. If it was a good idea in both states they considered it good." Carl grinned.

Ro laughed. "That's a unique tradition."

Ro spotted a bird skimming over the surface of the water.

"In any case I plan to take some smaller time jobs, mainly to supplement my savings and then go from there." Carl tracked the same bird, watching it dive into the sea and return with a fish in its beak.

Ro took another sip of the Painkiller. "This is just way too strong. I don't know how you can enjoy these."

"Rum's just not your drink," Carl quipped.

"Obviously," Ro groaned.

TBC