Agony in Motion
Posted on Wed May 20th, 2026 @ 10:34am by Lieutenant Commander Bonnie "Bon-Bon" Durnell & Remal Kajun & Commander Dean House & Lieutenant JG T'Lar & Commander Jennifer Baldric
Edited on on Wed May 20th, 2026 @ 11:55am
2,845 words; about a 14 minute read
Mission:
Pirates!
Location: ISS Sunfire
“Agony is not measured by how loudly someone screams… Every creature breaks eventually. The art lies in keeping them conscious long enough to hear it happen.”
I.S.S. Sunfire – Agony Room
The brig doors hissed shut behind T’Lar, and for a moment, the only sound left in the room was the low mechanical hum of the agony booth and Baldric’s ragged attempts to breathe through it. Bonnie did not move immediately. She remained seated backwards in the chair, chin resting atop folded arms, watching Baldric convulse behind the transparent field with the same calm attention someone else might give a fire in a hearth. Then slowly, almost thoughtfully, she stood.
The chair scraped softly backward across the deck as she approached the booth at an unhurried pace. Her reflection stretched, warped, and pale across the transparent surface beside Baldric’s twitching form. “Mmm,” Bonnie murmured quietly. “She really is trying to be gentle with you.” There was no mockery in the words. That was the disturbing part.
Bonnie crouched slightly, bringing herself nearer to eye level with the woman trapped inside. Her head tilted with open fascination as she watched another wave of pain ripple through Baldric’s locked muscles. “You should be grateful, actually.” A faint grin touched her mouth. “T’Lar still wants answers.”
The dagger appeared in her fingers again, though this time she did not twirl it. She rested the point lightly against the booth’s surface with a soft tick... tick... tick. “I would’ve started by finding out how long it took before you begged me to stop smiling at you.” Her eyes glittered.
“And then,” she added softly, almost warmly, “I’d start getting creative.” The grin widened suddenly, too sharp and too delighted for the amount of suffering in the room.
“You know the funny thing about pain?” Bonnie whispered. “Everybody thinks they’re protecting someone...” She leaned closer. “But after enough of it...” Her voice dropped nearly to a purr. “You stop caring who survives. All you want is for the universe to stop touching you.”
Another soft tick of the dagger against the booth. “And that,” Bonnie said with unsettling satisfaction, “is usually when people finally spill... everything.”
I.S.S. Sunfire – Bridge
The bridge existed beneath cloak and low light, quiet except for the steady pulse of engines carrying the ship deeper toward the Badlands. Outside the forward viewscreen, the stars drifted in distorted silence beneath the shimmer of the cloaking field, stretched and bent into ghostlike ribbons that painted the command deck in faint spectral motion.
No one spoke above what was necessary. The hunt behind them had ended. The delivery ahead had already begun.
Remal stood near the center of the bridge with one hand resting behind his back, posture rigid, composed, his attention fixed on the darkened display where the Badlands slowly resolved itself in distant storms and fractured plasma currents. The cloak wrapped around the ship like held breath.
Further aft, seated apart from the primary command stations, the Mirror equivalent of Dean House remained under quiet observation after his failed fight on Bajor.
Remal turned at last. The movement alone shifted the atmosphere on the bridge. His gaze settled on House with measured consideration, studying him the way one might study an unfamiliar weapon whose function had yet to be fully tested.
“The other House tracked us across a solar system,” Remal said evenly as he approached, voice low, controlled. “Through cloak.” A brief silence followed. “You know him better than anyone on this ship would.” His eyes narrowed slightly. “So tell me...”
Remal stopped beside the station, clasping his hands loosely behind his back once more. “What exactly is he?”
Dean gave a shrug. "Should be exactly what I am, he's just an Augment. Though evidently, he had a little more to think about in our last fight. I wasn't expecting, I'm ready this time, Remal."
T'Lar appeared on the bridge, striding over to Remal and House.
"Sir, my interrogation of Baldric continues. Thus far, we've determined that the Prime Dean House's status as an Augment has something to do with his entanglement with Batel, but she refuses to give up the mechanism by which this is possible, despite being in the agony booth for quite some time. I would attempt a second mind meld only as a last resort, as it poses a high level of risk to both myself and her psyche at this level of resistance. With your permission, and with Mister House's cooperation, however, I believe there is a chance we can break her by convincing her we've captured the Prime Dean House and by putting him through a simulated session in the agony booth."
Remal’s expression did not immediately change, though the silence that followed T’Lar’s proposal carried a colder weight than before. His eyes shifted slowly from her to House, then back again, measuring the suggestion for what it truly was. Convenience. His jaw flexed once beneath the low bridge light.
“You require another man to break a prisoner?” he asked at last, voice quiet enough that the bridge itself seemed to lean toward it. There was no anger in the question. That made it worse. “I was under the impression the Taskmaster did not require assistance to dismantle resistance.”
The words settled like blades laid carefully on a table. Nearby, one of the bridge crew lowered their eyes instinctively.
Remal stepped closer to T’Lar, with the precise stillness of someone forcing another to stand beneath the full weight of scrutiny. “Pain is simple,” he continued evenly. “Fear is simple. The agony booth is simple.” A faint narrowing of his eyes followed. “Deception requires understanding.”
For a moment, it almost sounded as though he might refuse her outright. Then his gaze shifted once more toward House. The Augment sat there bruised, diminished from Bajor, yet still dangerous in the way wounded predators remained dangerous. Remal neither trusted nor valued him beyond utility. But the proposed illusion irritated him for reasons he chose not to examine too closely.
A long breath passed through his nose. “Marshal Kaylen will demand answers,” he said finally, the decision arriving with visible reluctance. “And answers have greater value than pride.”
He turned slightly toward House now. “You will cooperate.” It was not phrased as an order so much as a condition of continued existence. “You will play your counterpart long enough for the prisoner to believe the illusion.”
His attention returned to T’Lar. “And if this fails...” A slight pause. “You will obtain the truth without involving anyone else again.” The final words landed with quiet finality.
"I will do what I think is needed, regardless of your standing, Remal. Keep that in mind when you try to push me around. I may have failed to kill the other, but I'm also the one that made it possible for you to still draw breath, or keep your freedom from a Federation prison, or needle." Dean had stood and looked Remal directly in the eyes, keeping them locked.
I.S.S. Sunfire – Agony Room
T'Lar made arrangements for proper prime clothing to be replicated and distressed for MU House to wear and the ship's doctor made sure that he was sufficiently bruised and bloodied so as to convince Baldric that he'd been beaten and stunned into submission. When all was ready she had Security post up out side the brig with him ready to drag him in for maximum dramatic effect. Entering the Brig she strode over to the Agonizer booth and turned it off abruptly, instructing the two security officers in attendance to drag Baldric from it and strap her back in the interrogation chair. The security team had no trouble transferring the immobile form of Baldric to the chair and securing her. T'Lar saw that she was on the verge of passing out and pressed a hypospray to her neck, injecting her with a powerful stimulant that shot her to full alertness immediately, if not gently.
"That was rude" Baldric slurred, her chin rolling on her chest even with the stimulant coursing through her veins.
While T’Lar continued the interrogation, Bonnie settled near the rear wall sharpening her dagger with slow deliberate strokes.
Shhk.
Shhk.
Shhk.
Her eyes never left Baldric. Her grin sharpened slightly as T’Lar pressed harder. Not clumsy cruelty. Precision. She found herself approving.
"I've good news. Ms. Baldric. We no longer have to rely solely on you to get the answers we need." T'Lar said matter of factly
"Bring in the prisoner."
The doors to the brig opened and the security officers dragged MU House into the room in full view of Baldric.
"Secure him in the Agony Booth." T'Lar said.
"Dean..." Jennifer breathed with what energy she had left, her eyes glued to the booth and Dean within it. 'Please...'
The instant Baldric’s voice weakened around House’s name, Bonnie smiled faintly in the shadows. Not at the woman's pain, but the weakness in attachment. A soft sound escaped Bonnie’s throat, almost appreciative. Fear was common. Love breaking under pressure was rarer.
"Please, what Ms. Baldric? Please don't turn on the booth? I think by now we've established that if I say I'm going to do something that I am going to do it. So I will give you one chance to save your lover from a most unpleasant experience, one you can attest to. TELL ME WHAT I WANT TO KNOW. TELL ME HOW HE IS ABLE TO TRACK BATEL'S BODY ACROSS AN ENTIRE SOLAR SYSTEM BY PULLING COORDINATES OUT OF THE ETHER!" T'Lar shouted in Baldric's face.
Jennifer froze, conflict written across every aspect of her face. She would willingly allow herself to be tortured to protect others, but when others hold the brunt of her lack of cooperation...that she couldn't deal with.
"Let him go, he has no part in this. Your beef is with me!" She tried to stand but her body abjectly refused to do anything but twitch.
"Wrong again..." T'Lar said coldly, "He has everything to do with this. If I can't get the answer from you I'll get it from him, but not before you watch him suffer the likes of which even you have not yet experienced."
Bonnie’s eyes moved between Baldric and the booth with growing fascination. Physical agony was predictable. Watching loyalty tear itself apart was the interesting part. She tilted her head slowly as Baldric pleaded for House instead of herself. That, more than the screaming, seemed to hold her attention.
Stepping over to the agony booth with her back to Baldric concealing her movements, T'Lar set the machine in bypass mode. Now when she turned it on the booth would light up, and it would buzz like normal but the occupant inside would receive no shock. The purpose of bypass mode was to provide brief respites for the occupant without turning the machine completely off. T'Lar banged on the booth to get MU Dean's attention.
"This is to establish trust between us, so that you will know that when I say I am going to do something, I am going to do it."
She said, giving him a look in the eye that said silently make it look good. She then turned the booth on and let the show begin.
As the electric lights within the booth reflected in her eyes, Bonnie smiled suddenly at nothing at all, as though some private and deeply unpleasant thought had just made her happy. Every now and then Bonnie laughed quietly to herself at moments no one else seemed to find amusing. Compared to Bonnie’s expressionless fascination, even the agony booth felt mechanical. Predictable. Almost humane.
There had to be a bit of a cosmetic change done before they got House down there for the show, but it was simple. Only taking five minutes. Glancing to T'Lar a moment. "Don't you tell them anything, Jen. It doesn't matter anyway. Batel's gone."
MU Dean gave the subtle of nods to T'Lar before he put on a show. The screams could be heard all the way to the Bridge. To much? Maybe, maybe not.
"How can you laugh?" Jennifer screamed, the injustice grating at the very fiber of her being. It felt as though her heart were being ripped out of her chest as Dean convulsed within the chamber.
Bonnie’s laughter softened into something almost affectionate as she looked toward Baldric. “Because,” she said dangerously quiet, “this is the moment you finally begin to understand, there are things worse than pain.”
"Please, make it stop!" She continued, "Don't hurt him, please."
Taking a moment to get some heavy looking breaths in Dean was actually better at this than they thought. All the years enduring as such helped to prepare him for real torture. He'd done this many times, faking just how much pain he wasn't able to handle. Still putting on a good show, he had to make it look like he was indeed resisting. "Let...her..go.."
Of course there is as well, if MU Dean knew anything about himself, or the other one, he had to put up a fight as well. Lashing out in calculated anger, which might also be from his hatred of Remal, he slammed against the front of the chamber.
"You can end his suffering at any time," T'Lar replied. "Simply tell me what I want to know..."
Jennifer drew a shuddering breath, as though she were being tortured herself. "Before Batel went back down to Skygowan, they injected him with some of her DNA" Baldric spat the words put almost as though they were poison. "It changed him, just like it had changed her"
T'Lar paused at that information, processing it.
"And there it is. The truth at last. Very good Ms. Baldric."
She turned and switched off the agony booth.
"Thank you Mister House. Excellent performance." she said opening the cabinet.
"The Empire thanks you for your continued loyalty and service. I have no further use for you."
Bonnie’s face fell immediately. “Aww.” The disappointment in her voice sounded almost childish. “And here I thought we were finally getting somewhere fun.”
She slumped back dramatically against the bulkhead with an exaggerated sigh before flashing House a grin that was all teeth. “You screamed very convincingly, by the way.”
"What??? That wasn't.....but....." the confusion was evident on Baldric's face before the reality of the situation sank in. She'd been played, she'd revealed her secret, and it wasn't even her Dean.
MU Dean rolled his shoulders a little as he stepped out of the booth. Looking to Jennifer for a moment and then back. "It's an art," referring to her pleasure in his performance.
"He would have told you the same thing, keep your mouth shut. Probably would have even died to save you, and keep that from getting out. You're..." stepping closer to Jennifer's booth. "Just.." leaning down a little so they could see eye to eye. "Weak.. just a little closer. "Pathetic," Dean leaned back up and stepped backward a few steps.
Tears of humiliation rolled down Jennifer's cheeks, leaving trails through the grime that was beginning to build up there. Her body screamed for release, her emotions spent and her mind threatening to shut down to protect her from more harm. Blackness touched the edges of her vision, creeping inwards. For once - she didn't fight it.
T'Lar ordered the security personnel to place Baldric back in her cell, which they did without issue as she was passed out from exhaustion and stress. The Vulcan felt no exultation in her victory. It was a dirty business; one that fell to her to do and nothing more. Had she failed the consequences would have been severe. Had she refused to torture the woman she herself would have found herself staring out from the agony booth being given no quarter. She did what she had to do to survive. Most of her people were slaves, and she was not one. So long as she remained useful she remained free, but she despised the work regardless of how good she was at it.
Jacob had understood the dichotomy that was her existence. He had known the real her, beyond the Taskmaster. But that which was soft and good had died with him, leaving her the monster that she was now. In order to survive now she must lean into it, embrace it, and be very careful to show no weakness, especially with Bonnie always looking over her shoulder.
Having thus secured the prisoner, T'Lar spun on her heel and left the brig headed for the bridge where she would give Remal the information he'd been waiting for.
Outside the I.S.S. Sunfire continued forward beneath cloak toward Marshal Kaylen and whatever waited beyond the storm.
TBC
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