Building A Bigger Better Picture pt3

Posted on Fri Oct 22nd, 2021 @ 2:22am by Commodore S'thenosis Gorgox & Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Commander Savar cha'Salik hei-Surak Talek-sen-deen & Lieutenant Commander Aurora Vali

Mission: Gamma Quadrant
Location: USS Sunfire Holodeck
Timeline: Current-ish

-Snip-
The arid wasteland was dotted with cliffs and rock formations, some perfectly innocent, others not so much. Extensive cave networks could be found hidden within the cliffs and served as hiding places for those who wanted not to be found - both colonist and Cardassian alike.

The Cardassian platoon stripped the Away team of their comm badges and weapons and marched them to a nearby cave as ordered. Soon the Gul would arrive.
-SNIP-

S'thenosis watched the scene before her play out, making sure to study and take in the words, the inflections, even the emotions in the movements. She noted that many of the men in the cave appeared to be hired thugs, not Obsidian Order or standard military. Their movements and actions indicated they were driven by money and little else.

-SNIP-
The Cardassians seemed calm, patiently waiting for their puppet master to arrive. His shuttle had landed a few moments earlier and no doubt he was on route to their location. True to form Maccet took his time, making others wait for him put him in a position of power. He strode into the cave and regarded his mercenaries and the Starfleet officers who were held behind them.
-SNIP-

She watched further as a conversation played out between a hollow version of Aurora and Maccet. She paid close attention to his eyes, his inflections, studied him.

-SNIP-
Aurora looked at Macvet “So this ...” she shivered. “Was your plan all along?”

Maccet strode closer to the shivering Vulcan. "And what do we have here? Oh deary deary me... shake hands with your black-hearted Captain? Break the bread per sey? Did she hand you a padd or brush past you? The blood on her hands just keeps spreading doesn't it?" He kept his own mostly healed hand behind his back as he spoke, not wanting to give away his involvement. "To answer your question - Yes this was my plan all along. But rest your pretty little mind - you shall not be harmed any more than necessary. You are not the end goal here"

" Now tell me my dear why I would want to do that?" The Gul leaned closer - inspecting the rapidly spreading lesion. " Oh dear that does look nasty"

Aurora sat shivering. “You do know something!” She tapped her head. “Whatever this is ... it’s messing with my control, I can’t stop myself from reading your surface thoughts. You did this!”

"Of course I know something, I created this pathogen. It was designed to incapacitate your black-hearted Captain whilst we eradicate the colonists and strip this planet of its ore" Maccet revealed his plan and seemed quite proud of it. " Your ailment will only aid the Glory of Cardassia. I must thank you in advance for your sacrifice"
-SNIP-

It was then that S'thenosis caught sight of Savar sitting off to the side, his eyes focused, glaring with what appeared to be seething anger. "Computer, freeze program." She crouched close to Savar and studied him quietly for a moment.

-SNIP-Savar's eyes focused and locked on Maccet. Here was the enemy! Someone trying to hurt his mate. They must be eliminated.-SNIP-

The Captain watched with a detached expression, trying to remove the emotion from her mind and watch the macabre scene play out with objectivity. She had missed some of the smaller details - the lesions on Aurora's arm, the hate in Savar's eyes. One thing she didn't forget was the cold calculating gaze of Gul Maccet. It lingered on Aurora as he gloated about the virus he had unleashed, before returning with full force to the holographic image of herself.

Savar stared at the holographic images of Aurora, the Captain, Gul Maccet and himself with emotional detachment. He knew the scene before him and he knew the outcome. It was committed to memory. The holoprogram had done a remarkable job in catching even the tiniest details. He regretted putting Rhenora and Aurora through this unpleasantness again and silently vowed he would make it up to both of them for the pain and stress they were forced to relieve.

Between this point and the end, there was some back and forth between Savar and Maccet, then the avatar of Captain Kaylen arrived. A little more back and forth between Rhenora and Maccet, then the hostages, save Savar and Aurora were set free. S'thenosis studied the Gul, his words, his actions, trying to find his motivations. So far she understood the basic revenge story he was portraying, but there seemed to be something deeper.

Once S'Thenosis seemed happy with whatever it was she was committing to memory the proverbial 'play' button was pressed again and the program resumed. She saw Maccet bind her wrists and cut her face with a knife, toying with the droplets of blood an artist considering where to apply paint to a canvas.

-snip-
Holo Rhenora said nothing but stood still as Maccet approached her, roughly grasping her wrists and yanking them behind her back, securing it with some kind of manacles tight enough to draw blood if she struggled too much.

Rhenora's head snapped sideways as he hit her, the cuff of his uniform dragging across her flesh and leaving a thin red cut in its wake. She concealed her reaction, outward silence but internal rhetoric screaming abuse. She glanced at the remaining members of the away team - locked in a rudimentary prison cell. They were safe for now, at least physically. Savar seemed to be struggling and Aurora was bearing the same lesions the Captain had been afflicted with.

Maccet laughed at the thin cut on her cheek. "Oops." He replied insincerely. "Now, that I have you. I am going to enjoy embarrassing you, Captain." He checked her cuffs and made them even tighter. He wanted no chance of Rhenora escaping. "There I think that will do."

" What is it you hope to accomplish Maccet? Killing me won't bring your brother back, it won't do anything to fix the past." Rhenora didn't bother to struggle against the restraints digging painfully into her wrists - she wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

"I hope for satisfaction, for revenge for your killing of my brother and I will have it." He answered.
-snip-

Aurora watched, it was hard having to face this again even though it was just a holographic representation. She took hold of Savar’s hand holding it tightly.

Savar said nothing as Aurora took hold of his hand and held it tightly. His face remained neutral however his fingers curled up and around Aurora's and gave it a comforting squeeze of support.

There it was. His verbal admission and primary motivation. S'thenosis had what she needed from the Maccet character, now she needed to understand Savar's motivations for what came next. There was some more back and forth between Rhenora and Maccet, but S'thenosis had turned her attention towards Savar and Aurora in the rudimentary cell. "Computer, pause program." She moved towards the cell doors. "Commander Savar, can you describe what was going through your head in this moment?" She gestured at the red-eyed Savar.

-snip-
Savar was unresponsive, that is he wasn't talking. He observed and saw everything. Especially that Aurora was in distress and that heightened his blood fever even more.

All eyes were on Maccet and Rhenora as Savar got up as silent as a wraith and moved to the cell door. It was rudimentary and as such he snapped it easily. As the door swung open his eyes were locked on the Cardassian as he mocked and tried to humiliate the Captain.
-SNIP-

He looked to the Commodore, "Certainly Commodore. My memory of the events is quite clear." He replied unemotionally. I was thinking of protecting my Captain from Gul Maccet, who obviously wished to harm her. Something I could not. I would not allow."

She nodded respectfully in her response, "So, despite your raging Pon Far, you managed to keep some level of control. To want to protect ones Captain is admirable and duty-bound, which works in our favor. You had clear motivation to attack your enemy."

She gestured at Maccet, "while his motivation was revenge, yours was the preservation of life and while not your own, it was still powerful enough to drive you to vengeance. Would you agree with that assessment Commander?"

Savar looked at Rhenora before he replied. He shifted his gaze to the Commodore. "I would Commodore. I was protecting my commanding officer, my friend, from an adversary that wanted to kill her." He replied candidly.

The Captain watched passively as the Commodore spoke with Commander Savar, the simulation paused with Maccet's hands gripped tightly around the neck of the holographic representation of herself. What would happen next was not going to be easy to watch.

Aurora was finding the whole thing equally difficult, watching the holographic version of herself deteriorate, as well as watching Savar’s holographic self fight the Pon’farr.

-SNIP-
Holo-Maccet knelt down face to face with his captured little mouse, the upper hand was his. But like any overconfident cat he had to toy with his prey just a little before killing it. He was now eye to eye a good position for sizing her up. He reached out and touched the blood upon her face causing her to flinch, then withdrew and looked at the spec upon his finger briefly before putting in his mouth.

The silence was deafening until broken. "You know, there was a time I wouldn't harm a soul. Do you know how many colours are in the standard painters palette? No, of course you wouldn't. Your kind are not artistic, only a singular focus." He quickly swiped another bead of her blood and studied it for a moment before showing her.

"We call this Bajoran. Nothing else. No dramatic flare like rust or crimson, just Bajoran." He sucked it off his finger again. "My brother, who you so mercilessly murdered in the street that night, used to tell me Bajorans were but tools to be used as we see fit." He squinted at her defiant form before him.

"Until that night I didn't care. I only saw the colours of a palette and a canvas with which I could craft my skills." He stood. "I fancied animals and insects, did you know?" He queried. "Of course not, shame." He looked around at his men and the situation as a whole then back at Rhenora. "From that night until this I was changed. I had a drive, a purpose. Every life on that rock I snuffed out, was because of you, little rat. And every life I take here today will be on your hands. You think I'm a monster? YOU MADE ME!" He yelled loud enough to shake the cavern they were in.
-SNIP-

Just as it was getting to a point where the end may be near, she stopped it again. "Computer pause program." S'thenosis came up next to Rhenora, facing holo-Rhenora and Maccet. "He clearly has spelled out his motive. And I see in the darkness over there, Savar is moving to attack. Does it strike any one of you as odd that Maccet's men were ignoring their captives and focused solely upon the situation here? How are you feeling about this reviewing Captain? Too much?"

"Not particularly Commodore. Maccet's men had no reason to fear us. Aurora was incapacitated due to her contact with the virus Maccet had engineered. I was fighting the beginning of Pon'Farr. In their eyes, we were not a threat." Savar replied coolly, calmly, logically.

" I feel they may have been too caught up 'in the show' so to speak to pay any heed to other goings-on" Rhenora started, looking at the thugs with a curious eye "Or perhaps Maccet hadn't paid them enough to intervene further. Either is a possibility" She bristled as Maccet's words ricocheted through the cavern.

TBC