Remains of Cragen's Hold *On Hold*

Posted on Wed Aug 4th, 2021 @ 9:13am by Commander Arrianna Salannis an Vantar & Lieutenant Commander Malakai Starr [Taylor] & Lieutenant Commander Kara Starr {Kelea-Salik} & Captain Mattias Richardson [Reece]

Mission: Darkness Rising - A Phoenix Lalor Sub Plot
Location: Former Cragen Stronghold
Timeline: MD - 22 1956 hours
3789 words - 7.6 OF Standard Post Measure

Kate approached what remained of the stronghold, Her hooded figure examined an ajar doorway. She spun a kick, kicking the door wide open. The stronghold was empty, and many of the corridors she recognized were destroyed. Walking through it quietly, she looked around the place.

Mattias followed close behind. He had forgone the armor on this trip, but was still heavily armed. He wore a long black duster over his usual vest and tanktop. His holoimage was of a younger Bajoran woman. He was really gonna need to have a discussion with Phoenix, about her always programming his holoemitters thusly. "Along with whatever you need to get that shit out of you and Josie, we should strip anything else of value from this place." His eyes never stopped moving as they entered the complex. He remembered where each of the automated turrets were and did not want to happen upon one by accident.

Kara walked alongside he brother, her phaser holstered ready for use if she needed to use it. Though she was hoping she would never have to. The silence and emptiness of their surroundings was creepy to say the least.

Malakai walked behind the group as they made their way through Cragen's stronghold. Kara was again walking next to Mattias. He kept his mouth to avoid making a scene but he wasn't pleased. He didn't want Kara to ignore her brother but damn! He was her husband.

Kara paused picking up on Malakai’s train of thought through their bond. Dropping back to walk beside Malakai she offered a smile.

Malakai smiled a grateful smile at Kara as she dropped back to walk beside him. As they looked over the shattered remains of the fortress.

Kate suddenly entered a room with what looked like a horrendous torture table... She looked at it... as a tear came to her eye and a memory came to the surface. She watched herself tied to the table..

'No... No... NOOO...' She heard a mental scream in pain as the scene played in her mind of Bishop's endless Torture. She then heard Josie begin tortured at well... Gripping her hands she began to calm herself. Breathing hard. "I was supposed to protect her... Not give in... What do I tell her parents? Your daughter is now a sex slave because of me?!?!"

Moving over to her side, Mattias put his right hand on her left shoulder. "No, Kate. None of this is your fault! That blame falls on Cragen, Bishop and every person who willi gly supports or works for him."

"It's not that simple Mattias." Arri noted. "When they broke me, I became more than a slave... I was Cragen's Slave Mistress." She noted. "Flossi was a aspect of myself so submissive... So exceptional.... She gave herself completely to Kyle Cragen's every whim, even creating more slaves..." She noted. "When you're enslaved. Who you are is driven into a hole in your mind, and another personality takes over... One that works to ensure you're never tortured... I watched myself do things to Josie. Horrible things.. She tormented her... Coerced her into giving in." Kate began examining the room. "And i was sedate and gone, like I was in the back seat of my own body, and Flossi was at the helm. Encumbered with so much shame... did not want to come out. I think something similar is happening to Josie. And to do that." Kate picked up several of what she saw as Bishop's personal effects. "Kyle ordered Flossi to break my love's heart. Mattias, I have a very... strong feeling that Bishop... Was broken by him too. I feel he may be looking for freedom from him, but cannot find it. Such is the nature of slavery."

Kara looked towards Kate. “What you did wasn’t your fault Kate, what Cragen did to you and to Josie is his doing not yours. I remember Bishop from when I was here, I got the impression he was loyal but maybe due to some coercion on Cragen’s side.”

"Definite Coercion, Kara... He's in love with another slave named Clara, but in Cragen's mind, Clara is a slave and does not deserve love. Flossi attempted to forget love itself and surrender to blind hedonism, but... she couldn't do it.." Kate mentioned. "To quote a human phrase, love conquers all. Part of the reason I'm doing this, is to offer Bishop a way out. For himself and Clara... Make no mistake, I will end him immediately if he does not have the courage to free himself, but too many have Cragen's shackles on them." Kate noted. "My friends... if you see one with a collar on.. Stun them. Bishop also has a collar, but it's a belt. He's earned his shackels removed, but he's still a slave. But if you see a painstick or a whip in their hands." Kate mentioned. "I will end their miserable lives immediately." Kate picked up a full vial... "Interesting..."

Malakai was concentrating on their surroundings as they entered a room and saw Kate's reaction to the torture table even as she talked to Kara. As she did he walked around looking at the various instruments of torture when they fell on a vial full of clear liquid. "Kate" He said softly, "Is this what they used to make you more obedient?"

Kara noted her husband’s question as she stepped forward to take a closer look.

"Be careful Kara." She noted. This is not only the drug they used on me, but inert nanites.. I injected them into female slaves to prepare the kill switch in them." Kate noted. "Let's go search Cragen's chambers."

"That sounds like lots of fun." Malakai muttered himself as the group moved towards Cragen's quarters.

"It's also one of the conditioning drugs. It's designed to keep the slave in a constant state of ecstasy, and it prevents unwanted pregnancy. Sex slaves are not permitted love or children. Don't let it get inside you, i very much want to meet your child."

Malakai put the vial down. "Crap! Don't want to be messing with any this shit." He looked at Kate, "These people are really screwed up, you know that right?"

Kate nodded. "There's a reason I've taken the center bedroom, and there's a reason I'm reinforcing it. There's a reason I lock myself in there every night." Kate mentioned. "It lasts for two weeks. The reason I have not given into the temptation to seduce any of you." Kate put the vial into a container. "Because I am forbidden by my bond to Josie of doing anything to hurt her. Which makes the times I was entered by them even more painful. Kyle Cragen may pretend he knows what love is, but I assure you. His concept of love is a lie."

"I'm sorry Kate, I didn't mean to bring up painful memories and you know you can count on any of us to help you in whatever way we can." Malakai answered.

“Whatever help you need Kate” Kara offered a smile. “We’ll be there for you.”

"Yes, anything." Mattias spoke up as he picked up a bullwhip that was laying under some rubble. "This was his, wasn't it, Kate?" He had heat in his words. He hated whips.

Kate began to breathe hard as she witnessed Josie being whipped by it again in her mind. She threw it to the ground and pulled out her phaser. Shooting it several times. "Accursed Barbaric Thing!!!! He used that on my mate. And Flossi gave it to him."

Tag All

Kate walked into Cragen's destroyed chambers. She looked around and examined some of Cragen's padds. She studied them.. Trying to retrieve what files she could. "He kept most of his knowledge upstairs, but there are some things I can recover.

"Get what you can use and lets keep moving." Malakai told her, His holoemitter showing him as an Andorian male.

Kara walked over to a bookcase, compared to some of the other bookcases it had a lot less dust which made her think it was used a lot more for one reason or another. She looked through some books before, in old film cliche style one of them opened up a latch to a hidden room. “Err Kate... did you know this was here?”

Malakai turned his head to look at the bookcase Kara was examining. "What about that Kate? Did you know about this bookcase?"

“Dare I step in there?” Kara looked at Malakai. “Do you think it’s likely to be booby trapped?”

"Yes, it is." Kate noted. "He is methodical in his methods. Brilliant. Ruthless. He could have a hundred security measures. Linked to the most innocent of disarming methods. El'Aurians are quite.... Nostalgic." Kate mentioned.

"Nostalgic? Not the word I would use Kate. More like devious." Malakai replied with scorn as he walked over to the bookcase. "You have an idea or knowhow to disatm it?"

"Indeed, Back me up. I believe I know what Cragen obsesses over quite well." Arri entered the room and almost immediately, a voice spoke. "Plasma purge activated, Room will be purged in ten seconds unless the password is entered. Ten... Nnnnine..." Arri simply walked up to a nearby console to see a blinking password entry screen. She breathed and typed it in.

JOSEPHINE

"Password Accepted. Welcome Mister Cragen."

Malakai nodded with approval. "Nicely done."

Kara breathed a sigh of relief, “He is obsessed isn’t he?” She paused. “Speaking of traps and nostalgia, I don’t suppose he’d have left anything on those books... would he?” Kara looked at her hands hoping she hadn’t exposed herself to anything unwelcome.

As the rest of the group entered the small hidden chamber, Mattias found a safe, behind another bookcase still sealed. What made the safe stand out, was that it was a manual tumbler lock. There was a company logo on it, faded some and scratched, but, if he squinted, he could read it.

"Cary Safe Company, Buffalo, New York, 1920." He face changed to that of appreciation. "Talk about a long way from home. After checking for any visible traps, he slowly spun the dial, untill he heard a soft click. Tiring the dial the other way slowly, he was rewardes with another soft click. Changing direction again, he found the third number, and heard a click and double clunk. The double doors popped open slightly.

Reading his left blaster, he slowly checkex for signs of any other traps. Finding none, he took hold of the right door and gently pulled it back. What he saw inside astounded him. "Uh, guys? You need to see this." Inside the vault, which carried further than the wall behind it, was a short stairwell down into a large, comfortably appointed room, which spparently had escaped the destruction of the rest of the complex.

In the center of the room, was a large circulsr bed. There was a matching-sized and -shaped mirror on the ceiling. Around the outside wall of the chamber, there were twelve alcoves, each one containing different items. Three held scrolls, manuscripts and books from Earth of the past, another two, an assortment of jewels and jewelry that could shame a top end jewelry store today. Two more held weapons from different times on Earth. There was an actual suit of armor in one. One held a collection of old computer memory storage units. The next one was filled with bricks of gold pressed latinum, if tge alcove was the same size as the others, there was easilly a thousand bricks here. The eleventh alcove contained a collection of clothes amd military awards, along with blocks of old paper currency. The last alcove, held a complete collection of notebooks and PADDs, plus a few cases of vials with clear liquid in them.

Kara walked over to the jewellery, some of it was men’s but the majority was women's. “These are exquisite...” she walked on looking around the room before pausing by the bed. “This is his most private domain, he brought only those he considered most precious here... his most trustworthy.” She walked back to the jewellery as though something was drawing her to it. “For the one... some of them belonged to her” She massaged her temples before looking towards a Malakai. “I need to... get out of here!” She left the room a lot more quickly than she’d entered.

"Kara!" Malakai shouted and looked at the others before dashing out of the room after his wife.

Kara was stood outside the doorway, “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you! I just...” She shook her head. “I can’t explain... it’s like someone, or something drew me to that jewellery! It was almost compulsive. I don’t know how I knew about who the jewellery belonged to. This place just... gives me the creeps, and before you say it, no I’m not going back!”

Mattias exited right as Kara was explaining. "What do you mean, drawn to? Like a pyschic link of some kind?"

Kara looked towards Mattias. “I dunno Matt, maybe. I just... wanted to pick up that jewellery, to put it on and show it off. That mirror on the ceiling too...” She frowned. “Maybe something in there was psychically imprinted and I just picked up on it.”

Malakai looked at Mattias, this over protectiveness of his was getting out of hand. "Mattias, go check on Kate, make sure nothing happens to her." He turned back to Kara, "Kara, breathe, your not going back in there. I'll stay right here with you. Your safe, not going to let anything happen to you."

While Mattias heard the territorial tone in Malakai's voice, he didn't think now was the time to get on a pissing match over whatever had gotten his shorts jammed up his ass. Instead, he quietly nodded and moved back to Kate.

“Matt...” Kara looked towards her brother as he walked away. “Thank you.” She made a mental note to speak with Malakai later.

Hearing Kara call his name stopped Mattias cold. Looking back at her, he gave her a smile and a wink. Always your Big Brother, Little Girl. He then turned back and returned to Kate's side.

Kate looked at the possessions in the room and then spoke. "Malakai..." She noted. I want to beam all of this to our compount.. All of it." Kate pulled out what appeared to be case...

Malakai still had his hands on Kara's. "Will do Kate." He assured her. "We won't leave anything behind."

"This is going to be my gift for Cragen. Before I was sold, he gave me some sort of gift. It was supposed to be bound to my chest until death. He gave it to me as a gift for being his most valuable slave.." Kate noted. "This thing was going to be attached to me for the rest of my life, but I figured out how to remove it, but I had to regenerate a bit of my chest epidermis. It was quite painful." Kate noted. "But I've endured worse pain She pulled out Cragen's gift Kate had to cut the jewel off. Literally skin it. She then put the jewel and the skin on the desk in the hidden chamber and she put a knife through it. Kate then pulled out a bottle of blood and splashed it on it on the desk. He's going to come back for all of this, but the only thing he'll find is this jewel and Flossi's blood. He came to have an admiration for Flossi, but now I'm going to toy with him. Pack this all up and let's go... I want to make him angry. Angry enough to take it out on Sephine." Kate mentioned.

"You want him to abuse, beat Josie, er Sephine? Why?" Malakai asked Kate.

Kate spoke. "Sephine will likely be programmed completely. I want her to realize what kind of man he is. Just like Bishop started to do in the end. And I want him so angry over Flossi being murdered, he makes foolish decisions." Kate sneered. "He took everything from me... Likewise I will take everything from him. This is just the start."

"Won't that put Josie in more danger? We're trying to get her back alive not in pieces." Malakai pointed out.

"We're already in grave danger." Kate noted.

"Agreed and we don't need to add to that danger." Malakai countered.

Kate spoke. "So what do you want me to do? I need him to keep on showing his true self to whatever Josephine is now.."

"I want you to be careful. I want you to think and not proceed with reckless abandon." Malakai countered.

"Malakai... He is not stable... The only chance for Josi... Is to push him over the edge." Kate noted. "If he focuses that intelligence of his, it will make it that much more harder." Kate noted.

Malakai nodded. "Okay Kate, you've dealt with him. You know him better than the rest of us. I trust you."

Kara looked through the doorway towards Kate. “So how did you get that thing off?”

"Painkillers, Something called Vodka... and a sharp razor." Kate responded.

Kara winced. “Ouch! Like I said there’s something about those pieces of jewellery, their so... powerfully psychically endowed I just wanted to pick them up and put them on!”

"Do not do that Kara. It's hell to get them off, and I had spend several hours regenerating my chest epidermis." Kate noted. "I don't mind the pain anymore, Kara... It's gonna be a part of my life for a long time.

Kara looked at Malakai holding onto his hand, then looked back at Kate. “That’s why I got out of the room, if I hadn’t...” she shook her head. “The room itself is full of psychic energy, it’s uncomfortable to say the least. One thing I’m certain of is that he’ll be back!”

"But we have an advantage now." Kate picked up one of his oldest journals. "I can trace Kyle Cragen back to the Seventeenth Century now... with his own journals. He can't keep everything in his head."

Kara nodded. “Then we use the journals to learn as much about him as we can.”

Holding up an ancient English longsword, Mattias spoke. "And when he has no more hold or power, I'd say you jam this into his heart, Kate."

Kate smiled and picked up the sword. This was one of her favorite weapons. She began to practice with it right then and there. Performing elegant slashes and flourishes. Kate then balanced the sword by its crossguard. This was a blade made by a master, for a master swordsman, or in this case a swordswoman. She held the blade up. "Exquisite... High-Carbon Stainless Steel, and it's been well maintained for centuries. The Blade is as sharp as the day it was forged." Kate performed a kata and grabbed its scabbard. Sheathing the blade. "I rename you Slaversbane. Once you were the possession of a vile man, now your enemies are those who sell those into slavery. I free you from slavery, so you can travel with me."

Mattias grinned softly. He was impressed with Kate's technique. "Perhaps, when the time is more appropriate, you and I could spar? I want to brush up on my swordsmanship, but have never found an opponent of my level."

"Mattias, when Old Alindar was destroyed by the Borg. It was only through my people's skill in swordmanship that we resisted. During the great exile, Swordmanship was practiced in case we ever encountered the Borg again. All of my people learn the sword. I'll be happy to humble you one day, Mattias."

"If your both done stroking each other's ego. Lets get moving so we can take a look at what we've collected. Make sure there aren't tracking devices on any of this stuff." Malakai told them.

Kate nodded and began to get Cragen's possessions ready for transport. She was surprised by many of the artifacts. "Meddling El-Aurians. It's no wonder Emperor Maximilliaen forbade them from setting foot on Alindar."

Mattias looked at her. "The Alindari don't like El Aurians? Why?"

"We discovered about four hundred years ago they were found masquerading as citizens of underdeveloped societies for some reason. The Senate nor the Emperor didn't take too kindly to this, and we viewed it as cultural contamination, so they were forbidden from setting foot on Alindar." Kate mentioned as she prepared the last of Cragen's possessions for transport. She tapped her writstcom. "Anna, this is Kate, we have some stuff that needs to be transported to the base."

"I've known two El Aurians, and they both said that their government had had scientific missions to study younger races, watch only. You know that Starfleet does the same thing. What did they do, specifically, that your Emperor disliked?"

"Emperor Maximillean was of the impression that observing younger races required absolute non-interference, which the El'Aurians did not conduct in his eyes. There was no isolation measures, and he viewed that as irresponsible. This was important because he wanted to prevent hysteria in these younger racews." Kate noted. "You recall in Earth's history what happened when the 'War of the Worlds' was first broadcasted over Earth's radio?" Kate noted. "That kind of hysteria was the reason the Emperor removed the El'Aurians from the younger races of our sectors." Kate mentioned. "This was important because the Imperium helped younger races when it was time for them to join the Galactic Community. At the Imperium's height, we provided mediation, diplomatic support, assistance in settling colonies. Sound familiar, Mattias?" Arri smiled. "It's why it only took a year for Sena Alindar to join the Federation. For others it took decades."

Mattias nodded, understanding more clearly. "So, as a race, the Alindari dislike and distrust any and all Ela Aurians? What about those that have tried to stay out of the way on developing worlds?"

"It's still a matter we need to resolve with the El'Aurians, Particularly since the Old Imperium suffered the same fate as the El'Aurians, and we to are in the process of rebuilding from a Borg holocaust." Kate noted. "We're amendable to reconciliation, provided they uphold the Federation's prime directive, now that we are a member world of the Federation."

Mattias shrugged. "Well, that might be difficult then. From what I've learned, the surviving El Aurians are been extremely secretive as to whether they even have a new world to call their own. Hard to join the UFP, without soil under your toes."