Post by moon on Nov 10, 2005 21:48:40 GMT -5
A grim procession silently made its way down the dormitory corridor. The faces of the three pilots were solemn and forlorn, their hearts heavy. Their booted footsteps echoed from the metal station walls.
As they approached their destination, Braadon Sete stepped forward to activate the door. When he pressed the thumb plate, however, a red light flashed and the durasteel slab remained motionless. He blinked, then glanced back at his companions.
Shaking his head, Tarson Vessery stepped over and popped open the access panel that shielded the door’s security computer. After a few moments of pulling and reconnecting wires, he stepped back as the door opened with the hiss of hydraulics. With a flourish, he motioned the others into the dark room.
The only light emanated from a large viewport across from the door, offering a breathtaking view of Devaiy and her moons. Several shuttles zipped back and forth in the empty space between planet and station. An unmoving figure stood staring out of it, silhouetted in the radiance.
Captain Bren Yorlin pressed a button and the door slid shut quietly. The officers looked at each other uneasily, overwhelmed by the horrendously cheerless waves rolling off of their squadronmate. Braadon stepped forward silently. “Lygeia?â€
She didn’t answer, didn’t move. There was no sign that she was even aware of their presence. Her soft green eyes continued to stare, unblinking and unfocused, at her homeplanet below.
“Do you want to talk?â€
In the reflection, they could see her eyes close as she said, “Is there anything to talk about, Lieutenant Sete?â€
Confused by the use of rank and her cryptic answer, Braadon halted. He glanced at the others before continuing. “Well, uh… we were wondering if you wanted… to… tell us what happened.†Chewing his lip, he fell silent.
Lieutenant Trialy let out a shuddering breath before she turned. Her face was pale, and dark circles hung below her eyes. She brushed a strand of unwashed hair behind her ear and looked at her inquisitors forlornly. “Why does it matter now?†she asked miserably.
The look on her face broke their hearts. “Because we care, Ly.†Tarson stepped forward to squeeze her cold, pale hands. “We can’t stand by and watch you tear yourself apart.â€
Lygeia looked at each one of them in turn, her large brown eyes filled with anguish. She apparently reached a decision, for she nodded and stumbled to her bed. Her body seemed to collapse as she reached it, as if the agony had placed a physical burden on her. As she situated herself on the edge of the cushion, the other pulled up chairs around her.
She picked at her nails for a moment, apparently fascinated by them. After a moment, she looked up at them. “When I was shot down, I managed to crash the ship in a somewhat graceful fashion. I guess I passed out, though; the next thing I knew, Tharen’s troops were cutting me out of the cockpit.
“When they got me back to the citadel, I was floating in bacta for a day or two. To make sure I was in peak condition for torture,†she spat. “They put me through a standard pre-interrogation routine: dunked in ice water, injected with hallucinogens, beaten….†She trailed off, her eyes closed and rubbing her forehead.
“By the time I got to Tharen’s office, I was pretty drugged up and out of sorts. I couldn’t even sit up unassisted. He was asking away, but I couldn’t register the questions. Everything got garbled somewhere between my ears and my brain…. I ended up just staring at the floor, trying to count tiles; never got past about ten before I forgot what I was doing.
“Anyway. He got really mad because I wasn’t answering, so he sent me off to be beaten again. They brought me back later…. I’m not sure how much later. Hours, days… I have no clue. But this time he brought in Raze, too.â€
She stopped, her face pinching up as she fought to keep control. “He looked absolutely horrible. All cut up and bruised…. His face was just a purple mass.†She paused, remembering. “I probably didn’t look any better, actually.â€
“They stood us next to each other and he started barking questions at me. I stood at attention, staring forward. He spat on me, slapped me…. Didn’t even look at him.†Tears started welling up in her eyes and her lip trembled. “Then he grabbed the rifle from the trooper next to him and….â€
Her throat constricted, strangling the words as they tried to come out. With a wail, she burst into tears. She buried her face in her lap and covered her head with her arms, sobbing uncontrollably. Bren leaned forward and stroked her hair, trying to calm her. He waited several moments before speaking, allowing her to let out some of the pain. “What happened?†he asked gently.
It took a while longer for her to bring herself under control. She hiccuped several times as she stopped crying, then lifted her head and wiped her tearstained cheeks. Her eyes were hard as she said, “He shot Raze. Right in the lung.†A lone tear snaked down her face. “Then he turned to me and said that if I gave him what he wanted, he’d stick Raze in the bacta tank. If I refused, they’d let him die.â€
She didn’t continue for several seconds. “Naturally, I gave him what he wanted. I gave him codes, I gave him targets, I gave him shipping schedules. I knew that I’d be court-martialed and maybe even imprisoned if I ever got back, but thought I was saving my brother. But….†She bit her lip and focused her stare on a point above their heads. “But they’d just dumped him in a cell and left him to die.â€
The room was silent, save the quiet hum of the aquarium above the bed. Then tears began to fall down Lygeia’s cheeks once more. Suddenly, a strangled cry of anguish escaped her lips as she grabbed the blaster from her nightstand and crammed it against her temple.
The men reacted instantly. Bren yelled and lunged at her, wrenching the weapon from her grip, tossed it to the floor, and accidentally throwing her from the bed. She shrieked and scrambled after it on hands and knees. Braadon dove and pinned her to the floor while Tarson grabbed the pistol and ran from the room to find the doctor. It all took less than three seconds.
“Calm down, Ly!†Braadon yelled. He struggled to keep her restrained as she kicked and screamed. Pressing her wrists into the carpet, he attempted to pin down her thighs with his knees.
“Get off! Just let me die! I want to die!†Her piercing cries were ignored, however, as Bren moved to help.
Her screams gave way into sobs that shook her entire body. Braadon sat her up and she buried her face in his chest, soaking his shirt with her tears. He pulled her close and rested his head against hers, rocking slowly. Soon her sobbing quieted and she just sat, hiccuping and tearstained, curled in his lap.
By the time Vessery returned with the medic, Lygeia had fallen asleep in the lieutenant’s arms, disturbed only by the occasional “hicâ€. Captain Yorlin walked over to them with a finger to his lips. “Just let them be,†he whispered. “When she wakes up, we’ll bring her to the medical bay.â€
Before the captain could even ask the question, Braadon mouthed that he would stay and watch her. The other nodded, then herded Tarson and the doctor from the room. With one last glance, he closed the door.
As they approached their destination, Braadon Sete stepped forward to activate the door. When he pressed the thumb plate, however, a red light flashed and the durasteel slab remained motionless. He blinked, then glanced back at his companions.
Shaking his head, Tarson Vessery stepped over and popped open the access panel that shielded the door’s security computer. After a few moments of pulling and reconnecting wires, he stepped back as the door opened with the hiss of hydraulics. With a flourish, he motioned the others into the dark room.
The only light emanated from a large viewport across from the door, offering a breathtaking view of Devaiy and her moons. Several shuttles zipped back and forth in the empty space between planet and station. An unmoving figure stood staring out of it, silhouetted in the radiance.
Captain Bren Yorlin pressed a button and the door slid shut quietly. The officers looked at each other uneasily, overwhelmed by the horrendously cheerless waves rolling off of their squadronmate. Braadon stepped forward silently. “Lygeia?â€
She didn’t answer, didn’t move. There was no sign that she was even aware of their presence. Her soft green eyes continued to stare, unblinking and unfocused, at her homeplanet below.
“Do you want to talk?â€
In the reflection, they could see her eyes close as she said, “Is there anything to talk about, Lieutenant Sete?â€
Confused by the use of rank and her cryptic answer, Braadon halted. He glanced at the others before continuing. “Well, uh… we were wondering if you wanted… to… tell us what happened.†Chewing his lip, he fell silent.
Lieutenant Trialy let out a shuddering breath before she turned. Her face was pale, and dark circles hung below her eyes. She brushed a strand of unwashed hair behind her ear and looked at her inquisitors forlornly. “Why does it matter now?†she asked miserably.
The look on her face broke their hearts. “Because we care, Ly.†Tarson stepped forward to squeeze her cold, pale hands. “We can’t stand by and watch you tear yourself apart.â€
Lygeia looked at each one of them in turn, her large brown eyes filled with anguish. She apparently reached a decision, for she nodded and stumbled to her bed. Her body seemed to collapse as she reached it, as if the agony had placed a physical burden on her. As she situated herself on the edge of the cushion, the other pulled up chairs around her.
She picked at her nails for a moment, apparently fascinated by them. After a moment, she looked up at them. “When I was shot down, I managed to crash the ship in a somewhat graceful fashion. I guess I passed out, though; the next thing I knew, Tharen’s troops were cutting me out of the cockpit.
“When they got me back to the citadel, I was floating in bacta for a day or two. To make sure I was in peak condition for torture,†she spat. “They put me through a standard pre-interrogation routine: dunked in ice water, injected with hallucinogens, beaten….†She trailed off, her eyes closed and rubbing her forehead.
“By the time I got to Tharen’s office, I was pretty drugged up and out of sorts. I couldn’t even sit up unassisted. He was asking away, but I couldn’t register the questions. Everything got garbled somewhere between my ears and my brain…. I ended up just staring at the floor, trying to count tiles; never got past about ten before I forgot what I was doing.
“Anyway. He got really mad because I wasn’t answering, so he sent me off to be beaten again. They brought me back later…. I’m not sure how much later. Hours, days… I have no clue. But this time he brought in Raze, too.â€
She stopped, her face pinching up as she fought to keep control. “He looked absolutely horrible. All cut up and bruised…. His face was just a purple mass.†She paused, remembering. “I probably didn’t look any better, actually.â€
“They stood us next to each other and he started barking questions at me. I stood at attention, staring forward. He spat on me, slapped me…. Didn’t even look at him.†Tears started welling up in her eyes and her lip trembled. “Then he grabbed the rifle from the trooper next to him and….â€
Her throat constricted, strangling the words as they tried to come out. With a wail, she burst into tears. She buried her face in her lap and covered her head with her arms, sobbing uncontrollably. Bren leaned forward and stroked her hair, trying to calm her. He waited several moments before speaking, allowing her to let out some of the pain. “What happened?†he asked gently.
It took a while longer for her to bring herself under control. She hiccuped several times as she stopped crying, then lifted her head and wiped her tearstained cheeks. Her eyes were hard as she said, “He shot Raze. Right in the lung.†A lone tear snaked down her face. “Then he turned to me and said that if I gave him what he wanted, he’d stick Raze in the bacta tank. If I refused, they’d let him die.â€
She didn’t continue for several seconds. “Naturally, I gave him what he wanted. I gave him codes, I gave him targets, I gave him shipping schedules. I knew that I’d be court-martialed and maybe even imprisoned if I ever got back, but thought I was saving my brother. But….†She bit her lip and focused her stare on a point above their heads. “But they’d just dumped him in a cell and left him to die.â€
The room was silent, save the quiet hum of the aquarium above the bed. Then tears began to fall down Lygeia’s cheeks once more. Suddenly, a strangled cry of anguish escaped her lips as she grabbed the blaster from her nightstand and crammed it against her temple.
The men reacted instantly. Bren yelled and lunged at her, wrenching the weapon from her grip, tossed it to the floor, and accidentally throwing her from the bed. She shrieked and scrambled after it on hands and knees. Braadon dove and pinned her to the floor while Tarson grabbed the pistol and ran from the room to find the doctor. It all took less than three seconds.
“Calm down, Ly!†Braadon yelled. He struggled to keep her restrained as she kicked and screamed. Pressing her wrists into the carpet, he attempted to pin down her thighs with his knees.
“Get off! Just let me die! I want to die!†Her piercing cries were ignored, however, as Bren moved to help.
Her screams gave way into sobs that shook her entire body. Braadon sat her up and she buried her face in his chest, soaking his shirt with her tears. He pulled her close and rested his head against hers, rocking slowly. Soon her sobbing quieted and she just sat, hiccuping and tearstained, curled in his lap.
By the time Vessery returned with the medic, Lygeia had fallen asleep in the lieutenant’s arms, disturbed only by the occasional “hicâ€. Captain Yorlin walked over to them with a finger to his lips. “Just let them be,†he whispered. “When she wakes up, we’ll bring her to the medical bay.â€
Before the captain could even ask the question, Braadon mouthed that he would stay and watch her. The other nodded, then herded Tarson and the doctor from the room. With one last glance, he closed the door.
