Reflection and Memories

Posted on Mon May 31st, 2021 @ 5:00pm by Captain Shran dh'Klar & Lieutenant JG James Phoenix

Mission: A Dark Looking Glass
Location: Mirror Universe

Shran led Phoenix and the other guards out of the holding area. Jon and Samantha remained in the cell, and Phoenix was headed to interrogation. Shran looked particularly smug at this moment as they walked across his office and into an adjoining room. The door opened and they walked in. The room was cold, far colder than what most humanoids considered comfortable, more along the lines of near freezing.

The guards were visibly uncomfortable, but Shran looked positively happy in this environment. He looked back at Phoenix, "You pink skins don't like the cold, don't do well in it. Better than Vulcans, Cardassians, and Klingons, but it bothers you a great deal nonetheless. I on the other hand thrive in this. Feel the briskness and how it forces the body to do so much suddenly. You can feel the adrenaline begin to pump through your body. Exhilarating isn't it? And over here..." he said as he gestured towards a table with shackles, "...you will tell me everything you know about whatever I ask."

James weighed his options. He couldn't try anything reckless, because that would inevitably end poorly for himself, and others. He took a moment to think, and then he spoke. "And if I don't?"

Shran turned to look at him, a demented smile on his face. "Oh, you will. The only choice you have is to do so quickly, or as the Klingons say, you can choose the way of pain." He gestured to the guards, who moved Phoenix to the table and then clamped his wrists and ankles in the shackles, effectively immobilizing him. Shran walked over to him, coming within just a few inches from his face and spoke once more, "So, would you like to tell me what sort of plans you and the other rebels have, or shall we go down the road of pain?"

He chuckled somewhat hysterically. "I'll tell you want you want to know. I am Ensign James Hunter Phoenix, Starfleet serial number SS-384-027" he retorted, knowing damn well he was going to regret it, because most likely, James would inevitably suffer more torture.

Shran smiled as he turned and took hold of a Klingon painstick that was on the wall. "So you have elected the way of pain" he said as he jabbed Phoenix in the ribs with it and listened to him scream as he kept it in place for nearly 10 seconds. "I do so enjoy seeing how much you Terrans can take. Typically 5 hits from a painstick will kill a human, and they usually become unconscious after 3 hits. But don't worry, I won't let you pass out, and I won't let you die." The look in his eyes was true demented at this point.

"My name is Ensign James Phoenix, Starfleet serial number SS-384-027" he repeated, awaiting the inevitable.

Shran smiled again as he jabbed the painstick once more into Phoenix's ribs and listened to him scream. After 10 seconds he pulled it away and placed it on the stand next to him. "Perhaps I am going about this wrong. Terrans often value the lives of others over their own."

He looked at the guards and gestured, and they walked over to a dark corner and began to unchain someone. A female voice began to moan lowly in protest. Finally the guards reappeared with the female and brought her closer to Shran and Phoenix.

"Get off me! I can walk on my own" said the mysterious female. She looked towards James. "Look who finally returned after leaving me to fend for myself." Then, she stopped, when she noticed that James appeared different.

James was looking towards Shran, awaiting the next strike of pain, when he recognized a familiar voice. A voice that he hadn't heard in technically centuries. After a moment of thought, he looked towards her to confirm his suspicions. "Ash?" he said in a confused and scared tone.

Shran chuckled. "Isn't this sweet, you know each other. All the better." He gestured for the guards to place her on an adjacent table. Shran looked at Phoenix as they completed clamping her down. He took hold of a large curved blade, "Shall we see how she deals with pain?"

James was in shock. He didn't know what to do. This wasn't his Ash, however, it was still her, and he needed to protect her. "If you even think about hurting her..." he threatened.

Ash was also surprised by this. Ever since her and James were found by the rebels, and eventually taken to the hell that was this station, they hated each other, more or less, primarily because they blamed each other for being frozen for as long as they were. But, why was he now defending her?

Shran smiled devilishly at the attempted strong talk from Phoenix. Slowly he inserted the blade into the female's left leg at the top of the thigh, the female screaming in pain. Shran looked at Phoenix as he pushed the blade in deeper and began to cut open the leg, splitting the quad muscle in half, the girl screaming in agony. "Do you wish to give information on the rebels now, or shall I take this incision down to her knee?"

"Fine, what do you want to know?" He asked. He didn't want to lose her again, let alone see her in this amount of pain.

Shran smiled knowing he had gotten the desired leverage he was looking for. "Who are you and your compatriots from the cell?"

"Like I said, I am Ensign James Phoenix, Tactical Officer of the USS Washington. The rest of them are Commander Jonathan Grayson, Commander Samantha Howard, and Lieutenant Commander Estella Stratton." He replied. However, it was starting to get colder and colder inside the room, which caused the Ensign to start shivering a little bit.

"What is StarFleet? Is that a new faction or empire? Are they helping the Terran rebels?" asked Shran, even more perplexed than he was when this first began.

Then he realized something. He had a new advantage: Misleading. It was risky, especially since Shran was already using someone he cared about as leverage. "Actually, both. They explore deep space, and strange new worlds, and the unknowns of the universe." He replied. "But, they can be deadly when threatened. Especially since you have committed an act of war against them, by capturing their own officers." He looked at Ash who was still in pain and agony. "But, since I value her life, and the rest of my compatriots as you call them, what other information would you like to know?"

Shran took the information Phoenix was giving him, joined it with what he had been told in the telepathic scan of Estella, along with other intel he had gathered and began to mull things over. As he considered things, this began to sound like the fabled other universe that a few Terran rebels had spoken of in past interrogations. The Terran rebels had taken certain data from there which ultimately allowed them to build a ship they called the Defiant, and later they even brought something called a cloaking device over, which ultimately led to the demise of the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance. That was how the Terrans had managed to regain their freedom. Bajor was left to survive on its own after the Terran's won that uprising, only recently making a military push that allowed them to retake Terok Nor and surrounding space for their own, though they remained in conflict with the Terrans.

Shran looked at Phoenix, looked him over long and hard, "You aren't from here" he said, his antennae raising straight up.

"Something like that" Phoenix replied.

"Now we truly have something to discuss" said Shran, a devious smile on his face. He twisted the blade in the woman causing her to scream once more, then he pulled it out and placed the blade on the table beside her, grabbing a medical device. He began to use the device to seal the wound, but stopped once the bleeding ceased, the wound still open and severe. "You seem like a smart fellow, a caring fellow. I can heal her or I can continue to cause her great pain. The choice is yours. Tell me about the weapons you have in your world."

"Depends on your definition of weapon. We have similar weapons to you in terms of energy weapons like phaser pistols and rifles, we have hand weapons as well. We have your average ship armaments as well. However, I don't have access to anything above that where I come from, and especially while here" James answered. Despite this being common information in his own universe, he still felt guilty giving this information.

"Surely you know weapon schematics, have information of defensive capabilities, some sort intelligence that can be useful to me." He turned and looked at the woman again, "Or perhaps you'd like for me to return to questioning her" he said in a sinister tone.

"I can't give you that information, because I don't know it. That information is most likely classified above my level. Many people don't know that information. Sometimes even commanding officers don't even know that information" Phoenix answered truthfully. He didn't know how Shran would take this answer, but James was telling the truth. He honestly didn't know because information like this was not accessible by most, including some Admirals.

Shran looked at Phoenix, sizing him up. He reached for the blade again and turned to the girl, "I'm not convinced he has your wellbeing in mind" he said as he slowly inserted the blade into her other leg. He looked at Phoenix, "Still know nothing?"

"Wait, I don't know much because of my rank. But I do know people who may have better knowledge than I. Though, fair warning they may not have access to that knowledge either. Just please spare her" he begged as he looked at Ash. He didn't want to lose her again, like he did all of those years ago.

Shran smiled deviously. "Now we are getting somewhere. Which one of your companions from the cell shall we bring here?"

The more he said, the more he felt guilty. He essentially was putting his fellow officers, and superiors in jeopardy. He had to make his next move very carefully. "They all outrank me, so any one of them could know the information you want. I don't know who. I just know that they outrank me, and because of that, they have more seniority over me. They also may not know this information, because it is uncommon for even people with their ranks to know that kind of information." He thought for a moment, about something that could be risking, especially bringing this up now. "There is also something else."

Shran looked at him intently. "And what might that be?"

"I am 381 years old. Well, technically. I know much about events from the past. While any one of my fellow officers from the cell could be of use, I can give you information on time And past events, which makes me more useful in this instance. Unless, of course, you would like to pass up this information?"

"You know past events from where you are from, not here. In either case I am not looking for a history lesson. I believe you have served your usefulness for now. Time to put you to work in the ore processing center." Shran grabbed the painstick and zapped Phoenix once more then motioned for the guards to take him. As the guards dragged him away, "Your friend here, she'll provide a good time for the troops."