Post by krow on Jun 30, 2014 22:09:30 GMT
Zellis Melru awoke with a start and looked around her quarters for the source of the loud chirp that brought her out of sleep. She looked past the sleeping forms of several slaves and located the source. Her comm that, during her activities the previous night, had been thrown into a pile of discarded clothes. She got up, stretched, and retrieved the comm.
"What is it?" She inquired icily. "You had better have a very good reason for waking me, Nulek."
The gruff but apologetic tone of her Orion first mate came over the comm."My apologies, Lady Melru. But our sensors have detected something that you need to see." He quickly added, "I wouldn't dare disturb you if it wasn't important."
The Orion woman sighed and started looking around her room for her clothes. "I'll be right there."
Several minutes later, she strode onto the bridge and sat down in her captain's chair. No, not a chair. She thought it more reminded her of a throne. And this ship was her kingdom with her as the Queen. As a result, she demanded the respect that came with being a queen. She slumped into her chair and threw both legs over the arm.
"Well Nulek? I'm here. What was so important?"
A larg broad-chested Orion man turned from where he had been leaning over a console. He tapped a button and an image appeared on the main viewscreen.
"This, my lady. Long range sensors have detected a Risian cruiser not far off our original course."
She huffed and gave him a disdainful look. "So? This is a transport vessel, not a raider. Besides, are you really stupid enough to think we can catch a Risian ship?"
He shook his head and tapped another button, magnifying the image. "My lady, the vessel is disabled. It seems to have been caught in that ion storm we detected earlier. It's dead in space and very heavily damaged."
The image of a large, sleek, and bright red cruiser snapped into focus. She leaned forward and gazed at it, her curiosity piqued. He was right, it was certainly damaged. She could see one of its sails was torn badly and it was leaking plasma from its nacelles. Some hull damage was visible, and the sleek pleasure craft was listing heavily to one side.
Nulek continued, "Risian vessels are rarely armed. And when they are, only with light weapons. This one is in no shape to fight though. Or more importantly, run. It would be easy prey. And the wealthy passengers on board will no doubt bring us a great deal of latinum. I know we're not a raiding vessel, but this ship won't need one. A show of force, some boarding parties, and it'll be yours."
She was quiet for a long moment, thinking. She'd learned that if something seemed too good to be true, it probably was. But that much payoff... "Change course to intercept. Captain Zrang should still be close. Signal him to meet us there. His Norgh Bird of Prey will add some extra incentive to the Risians."
She sat in her chair and watched her bridge crew hurry to do her bidding. She loved her job. No, not her job. Her calling. She had worked hard, done a lot of unsavory things to secure her position. And now she was the supreme leader of one of the Orion Syndicate's most profitable slave transports. No more groveling and whoring for her. Never again would she wear those metal scraps the lesser Orion women called clothes. No, she had earned her pants and she wore them with pride. Soon, they dropped out of warp and slid up alongside the Cruiseliner. A Norgh class bird of prey decloaked and positioned itself behind, her guns trained on the crippled ship.
Nulek looked up from his console. "My lady, they're hailing us."
Zellis Melru look at him with a look of mild surprise. "Already? Wonderful. Open a channel."
An image of a smartly dressed Risian man appeared on the screen. He wore what looked like an old sailor's outfit. Complete with hat and shorts that were far shorter than they needed to be. He was smudged with soot, his clothes filthy and burned in a few places, and his arm was in a sling. Behind him, the bridge of the ship was in disarray. Smoke hung in the air and people ran back and forth behind him frantically.
A look of profound relief crossed his face, "Thank the gods... I thought we were done for. We were caught in an ion storm. It came out of nowhere. The watchman was off doing something other than his job and it knocked us around before we even knew what was happening. We've lost our engines, communication systems, main power. Our life support and shields are barely working. We have injured and some casualties over here. Please help us. The Risian government would be more than happy to repay whatever resources you need."
Lady Melru nodded as he told his story, making sure her expression was that of pity and concern. "I'm terribly sorry to hear that. I'd be more than happy to assist in any way we can. You're lucky we were passing thought on our way to deliver medical supplies to an outer colony. This is no place for a Cruiseliner. I hear there are pirates out here!"
The man's brow furrowed and he somehow managed to look even more worried. "W-we didn't know that... That's dreadful. Listen, we'll see if we can lower our shields. The controls aren't responding well. If you could send over some supplies, medics, maybe some repair teams? We'd be in your debt."
The Orion nodded and smiled reassuringly. "Of course. Anything you need. We'll be standing by."
She cut the transmission with a motion to her comms officer and sat back in her chair, smirking to herself. "Once their shields are down have Vangrak and his men board. Tell them to kill anyone that tries to resist and bring back anyone worth a fair price. Strip the ship then set it to blow. Lower our shields and prepare to beam over the assault teams. And… tell them to have some fun over there."
Nulek grinned, nodded, and tapped at his console. The slaver’s shields lowered. A split second later, the vessel rocked violently, throwing the startled Orion woman from her chair. She struggled to her feet as more explosions rocked the ship and consoles blew out all over the bridge. People were throws back and the vessel lurched again. “Report! What was that?!”
Nulek was laying on the floor, his face badly burned and a look of surprised frozen on his lifeless face. Her helmsman hauled himself back into his chair and his hands flew across his console. “We’re been hit. Shields are offline. Weapons are offline. Engines are… gone. Completely destroyed. Some small hull breaches, and minimal casualties. Hang on… Source is a large vessel directly above us. It’s huge! What the hell is that thing?”
Zellis sat back in her chair. “Where did it come from?! Wait no it doesn’t matter. Hail Zrang. Tell him to kill that thing!”
Her comms officer shook his head. “No response from Zrang.”
She slammed her fist down on the arm of her chair. “Where is he?!”
Her tactical officer, a large Gorn, yanked a piece of shrapnel from her arm and snarled, “Gone. I’m only reading debris where his ship was. Our attacker is a Hirogen vessel. Apex class. It must have masked itself from our sensors somehow. They’re stopped firing. But I have no weapons to f-“
She was cut off by the bridge comms crackling to life. A man shouted over them, weapons fire heard in the background. “My lady, we’ve been boarded! Decks six, seven, and eight. There’s too many! We can’t h-“
His voice was cut off in a burst of weapons fire and a wet gurgle. Zellis looked around the bridge, a look of panic on her face. “Vent those decks! Now!”
The Gorn shook her massive head. “Can’t. Systems are cut off. Whoever they are, they’ve tied themselves into the computer. My bet is the access terminal on deck eight. May I make a suggestion? Have our forces pull back and set up a defensive line around the bridge.”
The Orion nodded, her skin turning ashen with shock. “Do it. W-we can drive them off still if we set up a chokepoint at the section C access point.”
A boom was heard and she jumped. The bridge crew looked back at the door to the bridge and then exchanged glances. Instantly, disruptors were pulled out and they took cover behind the various consoles. The Gorn picked up the Orion and hugged her to her chest, taking cover behind a pillar.
She growled softly, “Forgive me Lady Melru. But my scales are thicker than your skin.”
The Orion was too terrified to rebuke the Gorn. She’d never had this happen before. She was a transport captain, not a raider captain. She didn’t know what to do. The attackers had hit them too fast for her to react, hadn’t they? There was nothing she could have done. This wasn’t her fault. What kind of pirates would dare attack the Orion Syndicate? Not Hirogen. No, Hirogen wouldn’t do this. Then who? Her thoughts were interrupted by a deafening explosion. The thick metal doors to the bridge flew inwards with enough force to embed one of them into the viewscreen. Smoke billowed through the door and all was silent. Then her bridge crew opened fire through the door, pouring disruptor fire into the hallway beyond. But no fire came in response. And no shouted orders came from beyond. Just the steady thud of disruptor fire hitting metal. But… not deck metal. What was that? She peered around the Gorn’s massive shoulder and saw something she couldn’t quite comprehend. Two large pieces of metal were slowly advancing through the door. Each were easily six feet tall and four feet wide. Their surfaces were pitted, scarred, and melted from the fire that still splashed across them as her bridge crew continued to fire. The armored shields moved several meters into the bridge and stopped, unmoving as they soaked up fire. Someone yelled “Flank them!” and two of her crew broke cover to rush to each side.
The Gorn growled, “NO!” But it was too late. There was a rippling in the air and both crewmen crumpled to the ground, a large gash in each of their necks. They thrashed and gurgled as their blood flowed out the huge slices. The rest of the bridge crew stopped firing and looked around in confusion for the unseen attackers.
In the brief silence, a voice came from behind the shields. Calm, quiet, cool, and oddly friendly. “Put down your weapons or my Jem’Hadar will kill you. This is your only warning.”
Her crew turned and looked to Zellis. That voice had been like a splash of cold water to her face and she calmed down a bit. She gestured to her crew to do as they were told and struggled to free herself of the Gorn. The Gorn set her down and she fixed her hair. Her crew set their weapons on the ground and showed their hands, kicking the disruptors toward the middle of the room.
She took a deep breath and spoke, her voice equally calm. Or so she hoped. “Alright. We’re coming out.”
She stepped out from behind the pillar, the Gorn staying right behind her protectively. The two shields parted, and a Romulan woman wearing Jem’Hadar armor stepped out from between them, flanked by a Hirogen and two other heavily armed Romulans. She had a sword and a Jem’Hadar pistol on her belt and a friendly smile on her face.
The Romulan chuckled and shook her head. “A Risian cruiseliner? Out here? Really? I honestly, truly, didn’t believe you’d fall for that Zellis. Can I call you Zell?”
Zellis blinked and stared then mustered up her courage, puffed her chest up slightly, and said, “…you may address me as Lady Melru or not at all. Do you have any idea who you’ve attacked? You’d going t-“
She was cut off by a dismissive wave from the Romulan. “I’ll address you as slut, whore, bitch, or Greenskinned cunt-flap if I want to. And I know who you are. Orion Syndicate. Slaver vessel number four. I know perfectly well. Let’s not bullshit. I won here. You lost. Badly, I might add. If you tell your crew to surrender and offer no resistance, I’ll let you all live. That sound reasonable?”
She bristled at the words, but didn’t react. Something about how calmly she said it sent a chill down the Orion’s spine. The Romulan spoke so… casually. She sounded so friendly. Like she was chatting about her sister’s wedding over lunch or something. Zellis gulped and nodded.
She tapped her comm. “This is Lady Melru. Put down your weapons and offer no more resistance. We’re cooperating. This is an order.” Then she shut her comm and watched the Romulan.
The Romulan woman stepped forward, plucked the comm from her hand and promptly crushed it under her boot. She smiles turned to one of the Romulans. “You can cut their comms now. Tell the men to round up the survivors. Have the Nausicaans transported to the ship. Kill the rest.”
Zellis took a step foreward, “Now wait just a minute! You said th-“
The Romulan backhanded her across the face, sending her sprawling to the floor. “Rule number one, I lie. Besides, this is better than you deserve.”
The hulking Gorn took a thudding step forward, growling deep in her chest. The Romulan woman, looking mildly annoyed, pulled her pistol and shot the Gorn. The purple beam connected with the Gorn’s small beady eye and the back of the reptile’s head exploded outwards, showering the area behind her with warm wet chunks. Zellis had to scramble out of the way to avoid the limp body that slumped to the floor. She choked out a sob.
The Romulan sneered and grabbed the Orion by the hair. “What’s wrong, you can’t handle one dead friend, but you can have a ship full of slaves? You can look the other way while they’re abused, raped, beaten, then sold into God knows what. Hell, I bet you enjoy your job. Most Orions like you do. Must be too much when the shoe’s on the other foot.” Without looking away from the Orion she added, “Kill the rest. I’ll deal with this one myself.”
Zellis screamed, struggled, and kicked only to receive a savage blow from the butt of the pistol to her temple, stunning her. She watches in horror and Jem’hadar appear out of thin air and calmly gun down the rest of her bridge crew. Then she finds herself being dragged down a hall by her hair, the walls spinning around her. Finally she comes to her senses and struggles to her feet. She looks around and with horror, finds herself in an airlock with the Romulan standing at the open door.
She makes a sudden desperate lunge toward the door but the Romulan steps to meet her. Zellis feels a sharp stabbing pain in her side and looks down to see the Romulan had slid a knife into her belly. She gasps and tries to pull away, but the Romulan is hugging her tight.
Zellis chokes out, “W-who… are you?”
The Romulan smiles and slowly withdraws the knife. “Sin. You’re a fan of sin, aren’t you? I know I am. I’m a fan of all seven. Your sins were lust, greed, and pride. Right now? My sin is wrath.”
She shoved the Orion back into the airlock and sealed the door between them. Zellis dragged herself to her feet, using the door as support as blood flowed down her side. She clawed at the window, pure terror and frantic desperation overwhelming her mind. “Wait! WAIT! I can trade! I’ll do anything! Just please don’t kill me! I’ll give you money! I have a lot of money! I… I can get you things. Drugs, men… women? Ships! I can get you ships! L-let me live and I won’t tell the Syndicate! They’ll never know!”
The Romulan laughed. “They’ll never know anyway. You have nothing I want, ‘Lady Melru’.”
The Orion sobbed, tears flowing freely down her face. “I… I can make you feel good… Just let me out.”
The woman known as Sin gave her a pitying look. “Please, you’re embarrassing yourself. Besides, you’re about to make me feel good. Be sure to exhale. If you have air in your lungs, they’ll rupture. Trust me, I’m a doctor.”
And with that, she slapped the button and cycled the airlock. The door snapped open and Zellis found herself yanked out into nothingness. The blood on her side instantly froze. Frost formed inside her mouth as she tried to scream, but found she couldn’t draw breath. Her thrashing body was bathed in an unimaginable cold. The fluids on in her eyes evaporated and she squeezed them shut, her last sight being that of a Romulan woman calmly turning around and walking away from the window. Ice formed in her lungs and trachea and she found herself in more pain than she thought was possible. Bubbles formed in her blood and she prayed to any god that would hear her to let her die quickly. Someone was listening, because she lost consciousness. Her last thoughts being that of regret, terror, pain, and the most raw forms of fear.
Sindari strode back onto the bridge and plopped herself down in the Orion’s chair. Her first, a weathered Jem’Hadar walked up and smiled a rare smile. “Well done, lady Sin.”
She gave him a dirty look. “Don’t you dare. You know I’m no lady.”
He gave her an exaggerated bow. “You’re the boss. The crews report the deed is done. Nausicaans are in the holding cells, and the rest are all sucking vacuum in a cargo hold. What should we do with the slaves? Kill them? If the Syndicate captures them again, which they will if we release them, death will be a mercy. And they might be able to point a finger at us. Can’t have that, can we?”
She chuckles. “No, I suppose not. But I’m not going to have them killed. That would make me no better than the Orion whore. Give them a choice. Join my crew and make money through hard work, or take their chances with repairing this ship. I have a strong feeling I know what they’ll choose.”
He nodded. “And if any of them decide to stay behind?”
Sin thought for a moment. “Wipe the computer core. Have some of our engineers set it up so it looks like someone else hit it. I don’t care who, as long as it isn’t us. Clean up anything that might finger us.”
He adjusted his belt and clapped her on the shoulder. “You got it Sin. And congratulations on the hit. We didn’t lose anyone. That’s rare. I’ll have the Cruiseliner clean up their little stage show and meet us back… where exactly are we going from here?”
She smiled. “We need to deliver our cargo. Then we go back to the Feds. I need to see an Admiral about my new toy.” She looks up at him with a gleam in her eye. “It’s finally ready…”
He nodded and walked off, leaving her to take one last look around the bridge. She slowly looked from the Gorn to the other bodies lying in pools of blood then shakes her head and sighs. She taps her comm and beams out without another word.
"What is it?" She inquired icily. "You had better have a very good reason for waking me, Nulek."
The gruff but apologetic tone of her Orion first mate came over the comm."My apologies, Lady Melru. But our sensors have detected something that you need to see." He quickly added, "I wouldn't dare disturb you if it wasn't important."
The Orion woman sighed and started looking around her room for her clothes. "I'll be right there."
Several minutes later, she strode onto the bridge and sat down in her captain's chair. No, not a chair. She thought it more reminded her of a throne. And this ship was her kingdom with her as the Queen. As a result, she demanded the respect that came with being a queen. She slumped into her chair and threw both legs over the arm.
"Well Nulek? I'm here. What was so important?"
A larg broad-chested Orion man turned from where he had been leaning over a console. He tapped a button and an image appeared on the main viewscreen.
"This, my lady. Long range sensors have detected a Risian cruiser not far off our original course."
She huffed and gave him a disdainful look. "So? This is a transport vessel, not a raider. Besides, are you really stupid enough to think we can catch a Risian ship?"
He shook his head and tapped another button, magnifying the image. "My lady, the vessel is disabled. It seems to have been caught in that ion storm we detected earlier. It's dead in space and very heavily damaged."
The image of a large, sleek, and bright red cruiser snapped into focus. She leaned forward and gazed at it, her curiosity piqued. He was right, it was certainly damaged. She could see one of its sails was torn badly and it was leaking plasma from its nacelles. Some hull damage was visible, and the sleek pleasure craft was listing heavily to one side.
Nulek continued, "Risian vessels are rarely armed. And when they are, only with light weapons. This one is in no shape to fight though. Or more importantly, run. It would be easy prey. And the wealthy passengers on board will no doubt bring us a great deal of latinum. I know we're not a raiding vessel, but this ship won't need one. A show of force, some boarding parties, and it'll be yours."
She was quiet for a long moment, thinking. She'd learned that if something seemed too good to be true, it probably was. But that much payoff... "Change course to intercept. Captain Zrang should still be close. Signal him to meet us there. His Norgh Bird of Prey will add some extra incentive to the Risians."
She sat in her chair and watched her bridge crew hurry to do her bidding. She loved her job. No, not her job. Her calling. She had worked hard, done a lot of unsavory things to secure her position. And now she was the supreme leader of one of the Orion Syndicate's most profitable slave transports. No more groveling and whoring for her. Never again would she wear those metal scraps the lesser Orion women called clothes. No, she had earned her pants and she wore them with pride. Soon, they dropped out of warp and slid up alongside the Cruiseliner. A Norgh class bird of prey decloaked and positioned itself behind, her guns trained on the crippled ship.
Nulek looked up from his console. "My lady, they're hailing us."
Zellis Melru look at him with a look of mild surprise. "Already? Wonderful. Open a channel."
An image of a smartly dressed Risian man appeared on the screen. He wore what looked like an old sailor's outfit. Complete with hat and shorts that were far shorter than they needed to be. He was smudged with soot, his clothes filthy and burned in a few places, and his arm was in a sling. Behind him, the bridge of the ship was in disarray. Smoke hung in the air and people ran back and forth behind him frantically.
A look of profound relief crossed his face, "Thank the gods... I thought we were done for. We were caught in an ion storm. It came out of nowhere. The watchman was off doing something other than his job and it knocked us around before we even knew what was happening. We've lost our engines, communication systems, main power. Our life support and shields are barely working. We have injured and some casualties over here. Please help us. The Risian government would be more than happy to repay whatever resources you need."
Lady Melru nodded as he told his story, making sure her expression was that of pity and concern. "I'm terribly sorry to hear that. I'd be more than happy to assist in any way we can. You're lucky we were passing thought on our way to deliver medical supplies to an outer colony. This is no place for a Cruiseliner. I hear there are pirates out here!"
The man's brow furrowed and he somehow managed to look even more worried. "W-we didn't know that... That's dreadful. Listen, we'll see if we can lower our shields. The controls aren't responding well. If you could send over some supplies, medics, maybe some repair teams? We'd be in your debt."
The Orion nodded and smiled reassuringly. "Of course. Anything you need. We'll be standing by."
She cut the transmission with a motion to her comms officer and sat back in her chair, smirking to herself. "Once their shields are down have Vangrak and his men board. Tell them to kill anyone that tries to resist and bring back anyone worth a fair price. Strip the ship then set it to blow. Lower our shields and prepare to beam over the assault teams. And… tell them to have some fun over there."
Nulek grinned, nodded, and tapped at his console. The slaver’s shields lowered. A split second later, the vessel rocked violently, throwing the startled Orion woman from her chair. She struggled to her feet as more explosions rocked the ship and consoles blew out all over the bridge. People were throws back and the vessel lurched again. “Report! What was that?!”
Nulek was laying on the floor, his face badly burned and a look of surprised frozen on his lifeless face. Her helmsman hauled himself back into his chair and his hands flew across his console. “We’re been hit. Shields are offline. Weapons are offline. Engines are… gone. Completely destroyed. Some small hull breaches, and minimal casualties. Hang on… Source is a large vessel directly above us. It’s huge! What the hell is that thing?”
Zellis sat back in her chair. “Where did it come from?! Wait no it doesn’t matter. Hail Zrang. Tell him to kill that thing!”
Her comms officer shook his head. “No response from Zrang.”
She slammed her fist down on the arm of her chair. “Where is he?!”
Her tactical officer, a large Gorn, yanked a piece of shrapnel from her arm and snarled, “Gone. I’m only reading debris where his ship was. Our attacker is a Hirogen vessel. Apex class. It must have masked itself from our sensors somehow. They’re stopped firing. But I have no weapons to f-“
She was cut off by the bridge comms crackling to life. A man shouted over them, weapons fire heard in the background. “My lady, we’ve been boarded! Decks six, seven, and eight. There’s too many! We can’t h-“
His voice was cut off in a burst of weapons fire and a wet gurgle. Zellis looked around the bridge, a look of panic on her face. “Vent those decks! Now!”
The Gorn shook her massive head. “Can’t. Systems are cut off. Whoever they are, they’ve tied themselves into the computer. My bet is the access terminal on deck eight. May I make a suggestion? Have our forces pull back and set up a defensive line around the bridge.”
The Orion nodded, her skin turning ashen with shock. “Do it. W-we can drive them off still if we set up a chokepoint at the section C access point.”
A boom was heard and she jumped. The bridge crew looked back at the door to the bridge and then exchanged glances. Instantly, disruptors were pulled out and they took cover behind the various consoles. The Gorn picked up the Orion and hugged her to her chest, taking cover behind a pillar.
She growled softly, “Forgive me Lady Melru. But my scales are thicker than your skin.”
The Orion was too terrified to rebuke the Gorn. She’d never had this happen before. She was a transport captain, not a raider captain. She didn’t know what to do. The attackers had hit them too fast for her to react, hadn’t they? There was nothing she could have done. This wasn’t her fault. What kind of pirates would dare attack the Orion Syndicate? Not Hirogen. No, Hirogen wouldn’t do this. Then who? Her thoughts were interrupted by a deafening explosion. The thick metal doors to the bridge flew inwards with enough force to embed one of them into the viewscreen. Smoke billowed through the door and all was silent. Then her bridge crew opened fire through the door, pouring disruptor fire into the hallway beyond. But no fire came in response. And no shouted orders came from beyond. Just the steady thud of disruptor fire hitting metal. But… not deck metal. What was that? She peered around the Gorn’s massive shoulder and saw something she couldn’t quite comprehend. Two large pieces of metal were slowly advancing through the door. Each were easily six feet tall and four feet wide. Their surfaces were pitted, scarred, and melted from the fire that still splashed across them as her bridge crew continued to fire. The armored shields moved several meters into the bridge and stopped, unmoving as they soaked up fire. Someone yelled “Flank them!” and two of her crew broke cover to rush to each side.
The Gorn growled, “NO!” But it was too late. There was a rippling in the air and both crewmen crumpled to the ground, a large gash in each of their necks. They thrashed and gurgled as their blood flowed out the huge slices. The rest of the bridge crew stopped firing and looked around in confusion for the unseen attackers.
In the brief silence, a voice came from behind the shields. Calm, quiet, cool, and oddly friendly. “Put down your weapons or my Jem’Hadar will kill you. This is your only warning.”
Her crew turned and looked to Zellis. That voice had been like a splash of cold water to her face and she calmed down a bit. She gestured to her crew to do as they were told and struggled to free herself of the Gorn. The Gorn set her down and she fixed her hair. Her crew set their weapons on the ground and showed their hands, kicking the disruptors toward the middle of the room.
She took a deep breath and spoke, her voice equally calm. Or so she hoped. “Alright. We’re coming out.”
She stepped out from behind the pillar, the Gorn staying right behind her protectively. The two shields parted, and a Romulan woman wearing Jem’Hadar armor stepped out from between them, flanked by a Hirogen and two other heavily armed Romulans. She had a sword and a Jem’Hadar pistol on her belt and a friendly smile on her face.
The Romulan chuckled and shook her head. “A Risian cruiseliner? Out here? Really? I honestly, truly, didn’t believe you’d fall for that Zellis. Can I call you Zell?”
Zellis blinked and stared then mustered up her courage, puffed her chest up slightly, and said, “…you may address me as Lady Melru or not at all. Do you have any idea who you’ve attacked? You’d going t-“
She was cut off by a dismissive wave from the Romulan. “I’ll address you as slut, whore, bitch, or Greenskinned cunt-flap if I want to. And I know who you are. Orion Syndicate. Slaver vessel number four. I know perfectly well. Let’s not bullshit. I won here. You lost. Badly, I might add. If you tell your crew to surrender and offer no resistance, I’ll let you all live. That sound reasonable?”
She bristled at the words, but didn’t react. Something about how calmly she said it sent a chill down the Orion’s spine. The Romulan spoke so… casually. She sounded so friendly. Like she was chatting about her sister’s wedding over lunch or something. Zellis gulped and nodded.
She tapped her comm. “This is Lady Melru. Put down your weapons and offer no more resistance. We’re cooperating. This is an order.” Then she shut her comm and watched the Romulan.
The Romulan woman stepped forward, plucked the comm from her hand and promptly crushed it under her boot. She smiles turned to one of the Romulans. “You can cut their comms now. Tell the men to round up the survivors. Have the Nausicaans transported to the ship. Kill the rest.”
Zellis took a step foreward, “Now wait just a minute! You said th-“
The Romulan backhanded her across the face, sending her sprawling to the floor. “Rule number one, I lie. Besides, this is better than you deserve.”
The hulking Gorn took a thudding step forward, growling deep in her chest. The Romulan woman, looking mildly annoyed, pulled her pistol and shot the Gorn. The purple beam connected with the Gorn’s small beady eye and the back of the reptile’s head exploded outwards, showering the area behind her with warm wet chunks. Zellis had to scramble out of the way to avoid the limp body that slumped to the floor. She choked out a sob.
The Romulan sneered and grabbed the Orion by the hair. “What’s wrong, you can’t handle one dead friend, but you can have a ship full of slaves? You can look the other way while they’re abused, raped, beaten, then sold into God knows what. Hell, I bet you enjoy your job. Most Orions like you do. Must be too much when the shoe’s on the other foot.” Without looking away from the Orion she added, “Kill the rest. I’ll deal with this one myself.”
Zellis screamed, struggled, and kicked only to receive a savage blow from the butt of the pistol to her temple, stunning her. She watches in horror and Jem’hadar appear out of thin air and calmly gun down the rest of her bridge crew. Then she finds herself being dragged down a hall by her hair, the walls spinning around her. Finally she comes to her senses and struggles to her feet. She looks around and with horror, finds herself in an airlock with the Romulan standing at the open door.
She makes a sudden desperate lunge toward the door but the Romulan steps to meet her. Zellis feels a sharp stabbing pain in her side and looks down to see the Romulan had slid a knife into her belly. She gasps and tries to pull away, but the Romulan is hugging her tight.
Zellis chokes out, “W-who… are you?”
The Romulan smiles and slowly withdraws the knife. “Sin. You’re a fan of sin, aren’t you? I know I am. I’m a fan of all seven. Your sins were lust, greed, and pride. Right now? My sin is wrath.”
She shoved the Orion back into the airlock and sealed the door between them. Zellis dragged herself to her feet, using the door as support as blood flowed down her side. She clawed at the window, pure terror and frantic desperation overwhelming her mind. “Wait! WAIT! I can trade! I’ll do anything! Just please don’t kill me! I’ll give you money! I have a lot of money! I… I can get you things. Drugs, men… women? Ships! I can get you ships! L-let me live and I won’t tell the Syndicate! They’ll never know!”
The Romulan laughed. “They’ll never know anyway. You have nothing I want, ‘Lady Melru’.”
The Orion sobbed, tears flowing freely down her face. “I… I can make you feel good… Just let me out.”
The woman known as Sin gave her a pitying look. “Please, you’re embarrassing yourself. Besides, you’re about to make me feel good. Be sure to exhale. If you have air in your lungs, they’ll rupture. Trust me, I’m a doctor.”
And with that, she slapped the button and cycled the airlock. The door snapped open and Zellis found herself yanked out into nothingness. The blood on her side instantly froze. Frost formed inside her mouth as she tried to scream, but found she couldn’t draw breath. Her thrashing body was bathed in an unimaginable cold. The fluids on in her eyes evaporated and she squeezed them shut, her last sight being that of a Romulan woman calmly turning around and walking away from the window. Ice formed in her lungs and trachea and she found herself in more pain than she thought was possible. Bubbles formed in her blood and she prayed to any god that would hear her to let her die quickly. Someone was listening, because she lost consciousness. Her last thoughts being that of regret, terror, pain, and the most raw forms of fear.
Sindari strode back onto the bridge and plopped herself down in the Orion’s chair. Her first, a weathered Jem’Hadar walked up and smiled a rare smile. “Well done, lady Sin.”
She gave him a dirty look. “Don’t you dare. You know I’m no lady.”
He gave her an exaggerated bow. “You’re the boss. The crews report the deed is done. Nausicaans are in the holding cells, and the rest are all sucking vacuum in a cargo hold. What should we do with the slaves? Kill them? If the Syndicate captures them again, which they will if we release them, death will be a mercy. And they might be able to point a finger at us. Can’t have that, can we?”
She chuckles. “No, I suppose not. But I’m not going to have them killed. That would make me no better than the Orion whore. Give them a choice. Join my crew and make money through hard work, or take their chances with repairing this ship. I have a strong feeling I know what they’ll choose.”
He nodded. “And if any of them decide to stay behind?”
Sin thought for a moment. “Wipe the computer core. Have some of our engineers set it up so it looks like someone else hit it. I don’t care who, as long as it isn’t us. Clean up anything that might finger us.”
He adjusted his belt and clapped her on the shoulder. “You got it Sin. And congratulations on the hit. We didn’t lose anyone. That’s rare. I’ll have the Cruiseliner clean up their little stage show and meet us back… where exactly are we going from here?”
She smiled. “We need to deliver our cargo. Then we go back to the Feds. I need to see an Admiral about my new toy.” She looks up at him with a gleam in her eye. “It’s finally ready…”
He nodded and walked off, leaving her to take one last look around the bridge. She slowly looked from the Gorn to the other bodies lying in pools of blood then shakes her head and sighs. She taps her comm and beams out without another word.