Sharpening the Saber

Posted on Thu Jun 26th, 2025 @ 6:15pm by Captain Shran dh'Klar & Lieutenant Ánderijá "Rija" Rautajärvi & Lieutenant JG James Phoenix

1,015 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Wounds From the Mirror
Location: USS Saber

The turbolift made its way up to the bridge. The Andorian stood silently in the lift like some grim totem, a reminder that he was not of this universe. His clothing was not like something normally seen, unless you were perhaps a Klingon. He wore his version of the Andorian Guard uniform, which was designed to demonstrate the harsh conditions of his world, and the most notable item was the curved blades he had sheathed on either hip.

The turbolift doors opened and he took a very deliberate step onto the bridge. The room was in reduced light, most of the illumination was of a red tinge. "I see you have made progress" he said to a blonde female dressed in a skintight black leather jumpsuit.

"We have. Your pet has been quite helpful, once I broke her mind" the blonde responded with a vile grin, looking back at the command seat where Capt Kathrine Parker was lying on the ground chained like a beaten animal.

The Andorian looked over at the tactical station, "Have you made any progress with your double, of shall I have her brought in for a proper mind probe?"

Ash cackled and looked at him. "Have you no patience Andorian? I'm working on it. Believe it or not it's going to take a little bit of time considering her background" the brunette sneered as she looked back at what she was doing. "I can get a lot out of her if I play my cards correctly. There's a lot of trauma I can exploit and that doesn't even count anything that I don't know."

"If you want trauma to exploit, I can give her more trauma than she can possibly handle, or perhaps I should have her probed" he said with a vile grin. "I'll give you another day to get information out of her, and if you can't, well..." the Andorian said in a low-key threatening manner.

"Such impatience" she muttered. "Fine. But you better keep her alive if I fail to crack her. I want James Phoenix to watch her suffer, even if it's just through a viewscreen or computer" she returned Shran's grin.

He looked at Ash with a condescending sneer and then made his way down to the command station, taking the chain off the arm of the chair and tugging on it, bringing the ragged broken body of Capt Parker off the ground and to her knees. "Have you told my people all they need to know to make this ship function?"

The brunette woman kept her head bowed, afraid to look at her torturer. Her voice was broken, almost meek, but it still had a touch of confidence, "You know all you need to know sir."

He glared at her, hearing the subtle hints of defiance. "We'll see." He tapped on the comm button on the command chair, "Engineering, are things under control?"

A deep, gravelly voice boomed over the comm. [Under control, sir. I'll have a full report for you within the hour. There are still some things to be taken care of.]

"Good. Have you made the modifications to the hologram in sickbay?" the Andorian queried.

There was a pause on the comm line--long enough to raise more than a few eyebrows. The voice returned, clipped and low.

[There was an issue. It's been resolved.]

The bridge lights shifted slightly as the lift doors opened, bringing with it a burst of cool, copper-scented air. What emerged wasn't hurried or angry. It was simply deliberate. And soaked in blood.

Rija Rautajärvi stepped into the ambient glow as though it were natural to him. His uniform bore the burn mark of a plasma welder just beneath the collar, and his calm engineer's hands dripped red. Under one arm he carried the severed head of Cash Cullers like a parcel. The eyes were still open, and the jaw was agape.

He didn't look at anyone as he crossed the deck. He didn't speak. When he reached the foot of the command chair, he knelt--not out of deference, but so he could place the head precisely where it needed to go.

At Shran's boots.

Only then did he straighten his body and return to full attention. The blood on his hands had begun to darken at the fingertips.

"I've begun the modifications to the Sickbay hologram. The delay was... personnel related." He gestured lightly toward the head, as if clarifying. "The modifications will continue under my eyes."

"You'll have a full report in forty-two minutes." He paused. "Permission to leave, sir."

"I always liked your Rija. You are a Terran that understands how to get things done. Very well, get that hologram working properly. And clean yourself up. No need to be so dirty on this nice new ship of ours" the Andorian said grimly.

As Rija exited, the Andorian looked to Capt Parker, "You see the loyalty of my people. They are willing to eliminate treacherous members of my own crew. If you want to keep your crew alive, you will function like a proper Terran, won't you?"

"Of course" she replied, her voice defeated.

The blonde made her way down and sat in the Andorian's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck as she kissed him. "Rija's actions broke her. She is convinced you'll kill them all now."

He looked into her eyes, "How right she is. But not now. They are still worth something for now."

"We should leave this place. They'll send another ship for us" she said as she kissed him again and again.

"I plan to leave, but I am aware they'll send somebody else for us. I'm counting on it" he replied with a smile. "Work with Rija. Once he has engineering under control we'll leave here. We can contact the Orion's. They'll happily take a few of these people for their slave markets."

She kissed him once again. "You always know just what to say my love. I'll get things working in short order." She got up and made her way to the turbolift, heading to Engineering.

 

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