Mulgare Hircum

Posted on Wed Feb 9th, 2022 @ 3:12am by

Mission: Tales from the other side of the Mirror
Location: The Serpent's Tooth, MU
Timeline: After 'A Catalogue of Horrors'
1050 words - 2.1 OF Standard Post Measure

Hesmil dropped her medical bag at her feet and slumped down into the couch at the back of the galley of the Serpents Tooth, next to Narira and across from where Mal slouched in an armchair, a short glass of something strong hanging from his fingers. "I need to scrub. With bleach." She declared.

"And how are our esteemed guests?" Mal asked, not really caring about the answer.

"They've both come down with bad cases of karma. His can be fixed. But she's a mess. If we didn't already have a mountain of evidence on Sthilg, she alone could nail his coffin shut. Even if she gets a light sentence, she won't live to see the end of it. The damage he's done? Five to seven years, and that's with all the external support she could get. Which she won't get because those supplies don't stretch far enough for anyone to justify delaying the inevitable that much."

"Focsle council will vote for execution," Narira said. Her fingers pressed at the deep scar in the side of her temple, trying to rub away the headache looking inside the two prisoner's heads had given her.

"Not so sure it will get that far." Mal took a swig of his drink. "Lianej wants to push through to Safe Harbour, and meet up with the other captains. Proper trial."

"Ug." Narira spat. "Why are we bothering? They're both guilty as fuck. And I doubt the paltry intelligence she's got will save her. She's a nobody."

Hesmil took Mal's drink from him, then leant back to put her feet up on the coffee table between them. "Oh, I'm sure of it. When I was checking her out, she said she didn't torture anyone, she just supervised." the sarcasm was thick enough to plate a warbird.

The betazoid snorted in protest. "That is not the case."

"Then she said she was forced to do it."

"That's no defense." Mal looked longingly at his whiskey, but didn't reach out to take it.

"She thinks it is." Hesmil swirled the drink once and took a swig. "What is wrong with you people?" She asked Mal, handing the tumbler back. "You all seem to think you're all heroes even when you're as complicit as hell."

Mal shrugged. "Pass. My father had me -" he broke off not wanting to recall the tortures and humiliations his parents had heaped on him for his betrayal. "well. you know. And I'm sure he thinks it was for my own good. Might makes right, and no-one is responsible for their actions. They were only following orders." He said darkly.

Hesmil nodded. She'd been part of the crew that had rescued him, and his broken, ruined body had come in the top ten of things she didn't want to see again. "Well that's her. She's utterly convinced she's a victim."

"If Sthilg's been at her, I don't exactly blame her." Mal didn't want to feel sympathy, but he'd seen some of the bad doctors handy work in his time as Terran Empire nobility and it had left him nauseous that anyone could do that to another sentient person.

"I was raped," Narira spat. "Doesn't mean I wouldn't be a murderer if I pulled the trigger on someone else. Your father had you - " she stopped as well, knowing Mal's sensitivity to his trauma. "We never lost sight of right and wrong. We never "just followed orders" either. Can't believe we're giving those shits a trial"

"It might not get that far." Hesmil reached out to pat Narira sympathetically. "the inquisitor at least may be able to convince people's she's so lost in her delusion of victimhood, they'll think she's non compos mentis. I'm not a psychiatrist but short of finding some of her victims and piping their memories directly into her, I don't think she'll ever admit she did what she did."

"Mother of fuck!" Narira jumped to her feet, her red dreadlocks swinging. "I was there in their goddamn memories. I saw what they did! They deserve a slow, painful, fucked up death watching each other suffer. How dare they fucking deny it. How dare -"

"Narira!" Hesmil snapped as a psychic blast lanced into her forebrain. Mal had his eyes squeezed shut Beyond their cosy corner, other members of the crew were wincing and grabbing at their heads as the Betazoid's psychic pain started to leak out. "Get yourself under control," She reached into her bag and pulled out a hypospray.

The Betazoid took it gratefully and jabbed it into her carotid, she closed her eyes in a moment of relief that was echoed across the galley. Then she sank down to the couch again. "Sorry."

"Its going to get worse before it gets better," Mal gave her a smile that was a pale echo of his usual one. one that might tempt a priest, but wouldn't ruin a saint. "They're going to go down screaming they did nothing wrong. And they will never ever believe differently. That's what the Empire does to you. Maybe we'll take off to Rigel for a few weeks, so you don't have to deal with it. But they get a trial. As fair as we can. Or we're no better than them."

"He's right Nish," Hesmil reached out and squeezed the Betazoid's hand. "Moral high ground remember. An eye for an eye, and we will all go blind."

Narira snorted with disgust. Mal reached out and took her other hand. "Do you really want to be just like them?" he asked her, voice soft. "You're better than that. Do you really want to proof the terrans right when they think its all about the violence."

Narira studied the floor for a minute. "No," she said after a long sigh. "But I'm tired of looking at minds like that. And then hearing people say what I saw didn't happen. Makes me doubt my own sanity at times."

Hesmil wrapped an arm round her and squeezed. "We're looking out for you. And when we reach Safe Harbour, we'll find another telepath if we need to."

"I don't want to be a fuss."

Mal shook his head. "Its not fuss. We're all family now. All the family we've got left. We take care of each other. We always do."