"Welcome To Hell"
[Previous post: "Getting A Sneak Peek At The Upcoming Main Event"]
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Stardate: 60325.0700
Setting: SURIAL III, Underground cell
The little amount of light that had pieced the darkness of the cell had announced the dawning of a new day. This was not a welcomed arrival as it heralded another day of hell for the crew of the MERCURY. Maybe if he had done something different, some more, they might all have been spared this.
Uxtar had gone through the assault on the MERCURY in his head more times than he could remember. It was not like he had anything better to do, his arms tied behind his back with some sort of unbreakable chain (unbreakable based on his repeated attempts which had left him wrists raw and bleeding) had made it impossible for him to do anything constructive.
Could they have done something different? Uxtar kept repeating that question in his mind, carefully reviewing the battle with the two Cardassian ships that had led the MERCURY to its demise. As much as the Hirogen believed that there had been something that they had missed, the FCO could not find any fault in anything that they had done. The ship had been boarded by some unknown force and by the time security teams had been dispatched, the ship had lost all power and propulsion. There was nothing anyone could have done, not even him.
The Cardassians had washed over the ship like a tsunami and secured all of the key sections within a few seconds. One of those who had stormed the bridge had found himself flat on his back before the CO ordered everyone to stand down. Fighting would only make the situation worse by angering the attacking forces and causing them to hurt people that they would not have to otherwise. Uxtar was not used to being the prey, but it seemed that he would have to suffer this fate for the time being as per the orders of his captain. All that the FCO and the rest of the crew could do was to wait for an opportunity to reverse the roles and transform the predators back into the prey the Hirogen had wanted them to be.
It had been days, maybe even weeks since that fateful day and Uxtar was still waiting for the chance to once again become the predator. He had tried to keep track of time by using the small beam of light that came into the cell from an opening in the ceiling, but after several days Uxtar had lost count, his strength having drained from him from lack of food and water. The Cardassians, or whoever had been bringing them their food had not skipped Uxtar's cell, but not having use of his arms and hands had made it very difficult for the FCO to eat and drink.
The amused laughter on the other side of the door mixed in with the screams from members of the crew who were being tortured, yet no one had bothered asking the Hirogen anything. Had they classified him as not being worth the trouble or had they been keeping him for a grand finale? Maybe that he had been nothing more than an Ensign at the helm of the MERCURY had labeled him as a nobody. Uxtar almost wished that he had been the one screaming, at least while being tortured he would not be hammering himself for what had happened. It had not been his fault, but being who he was, Uxtar could not stop blaming himself for what had happened, and his crew having been captured and brought here. Wherever here was.
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Mark Hutchings {h172mark16@fastmail.us}
Ensign Uxtar
Former Flight Control Officer 2005 post #333
USS MERCURY
