The Trial (Part III of III)
Posted on Sat Apr 9th, 2022 @ 9:18pm by Lianej Derani & Lieutenant Commander Savar cha'Salik hei-Surak Talek-sen-deen [Taylor] & Lieutenant JG Heather De La Rosa {Kelea-Salik}
Mission:
Tales from the other side of the Mirror
Location: "Safe Harbour"
Timeline: two day afters "Mercy belongs to the undeserving."
2330 words - 4.7 OF Standard Post Measure
Previously in The Trial
Heather looked towards the Captains “Give us a chance to prove our intentions, what do you have to lose? I can’t hurt any of your people, ask your doctor and surgeon.”
"I think you've already proved your intentions, don't you?" Craite asked. "You'll buy your lives with whatever currency you have to hand. Other people's information. Other people's bodies. Other people's lives."
Heather stepped slightly forward. “Okay then, kill me! Right here, right now and prove to everyone here that you’re not any worse than the Empire."
The Nausican drew his phaser and shot Heather clean between eyes, his phaser spinning back to its holster before she even hit the floor.
And now the conclusion
All hell broke loose. Lianej's crew closed on Savar, putting themselves between him and the other captains.
Lianej leapt to her feet, "Jad!"
"She asked for it." He shrugged. "literally."
Savar was pulling Lianei's crew off him like they were flies and as he fought to reach the Nausican as tear him limb from limb.
Mal Garrison had leapt the table, calling for the ships surgeon, as he dashed to Heather's side as the other XO's leapt on Savar. The Nausicaan's own body guard, another beefy male, tackled him down to the ground, and the others piled on, trying to get hold of a limb, a hand, and ankle, anything to subdue the enraged vulcan.
Savar was shedding them like water as he struggled to get to the Nausicaan. He nerved pinched the bodyguard and flung him aside as he was tackled by
other XO's and Lianei's crew.
Mal knelt at Heather's side, fingers of one hand pressed to her throat, trying to find a pulse point, the others on his communicators "Hesmil! Get in here!" He knew there was time to save her.
"Someone stun that fucking Vulcan!" shouted the Andorian.
Jad pulled one of the Orions away from Savar, and stood back, ready to take him on.
Savar had flung the last of his would be subduers aside and faced the Nausicaan. His eyes full of rage. His intent clear, to kill the Nausciaan for what he did to Heather.
The nausican smirked, and beckoned him on.
Savar said nothing and with a speed few would have thought possible he closed on the Nausican and delivered a resounding right hook to his opponent's face, followed by a powerful punch to his stomach.
The nausicaan went staggering back, orange blood bursting from split nasal cartilage and where his fangs had been driven into his lip. But he stayed on his feet. Then he grinned at the furious Vulcan, and ounced on him, slamming his arms around his waist, the momentum lifting Savar up, and the dropping both of them to the floor with a clang that shook the deck plating.
"Jad!" someone protested, "Get out of the way you crazy fuck!"
Savar's brain rattled inside his skull from the force of the drop and his back protested in exquisite pain. However, he was undeterred as his arms came up and with resounding force, he slammed his hands against the ears of the Nausicaan, hoping to bust his eardrums.
Heather stirred with a low moan, she wasn't conscious yet but she was showing encouraging signs of returning to consciousness.
"Oh thank fuck," Mal muttered, realising she wasn't dead. "Hesmil, get over here."
The doctor had entered from outside, the betazoid at her side, had taken one look at the situation and shoved her bag in to Narira's arms and gone to Heather, tricorder in hand. "What happened."
"Jad shot her. I thought she was dead."
Hesmil grunted, one eye on the tricorder. "That's because the pulse is here, idiot." She put her fingers against the right spot, a few centimeters down from where Mal had been trying to check. She verified the evidence of her hands against the tricorder. "Heavy Stun. And a concussion from when she hit the floor I suspect. Get her on her side and I'll get a stimulant."
Mal nodded and shifted heather carefully. At the same time the Nausicaan howled, a mix of pain and something hard to parse, joy or satisfaction, almost a laugh. Rearing back for leverage, he back handed Savar, studded gloves driving the vulcans face hard into the stone.
Savar threw his elbow hard into Jad's face, hearing a satisfying crack of bone, he turned around, his face bloody from where it had been slammed into the stone, but his eyes were still fixed on the Nausicaan and killing him.
Savar rose to finish the pirate captain, but he was barely to his feet before one of the other XO's stepped in behind his unguarded flank, and pressed what looked like a short version of a Klingon Painstick and held it there.
Electricity burst through him, rushing along nerves, burrowing into muscles until everything refused to listen to his brain. All Savar could do was breathe as he was let down to floor, propped against a table leg.
"Have you both quite finished?" the Hekaran asked, voice like liquid nitrogen.
Jad sat himself down on one of the other table, hand pressed to his face, jaw working. He spat a tooth to the floor, bloody phlegm running into the now cracked thin stone tile. "Good punch." He grunted at Savar
Lianej walked over to him, looked him up and now, and then punched him herself. Boslics were no stronger than humans or Bajorans, it was barely a love tap that did more damage to her knuckles than his face. "Thats for touching my prisoners." She snarled at him. Then she turned to the Hekaran "Now I'm done."
Hesmil had retrieved a hypospray from her bag and set it to Heather's neck. "Wakey wakey, sleeping beauty."
For his part Savar could only sit and project murder at the Nausicaan. His limbs only now beginning to respond to his commands. The XO who'd stunned him, a tall muscular woman, with a mint green skin, hair a slightly darker shade of green, crouched down next to him, stun baton at the ready.
Heather awoke to find herself lying on her side on the floor, her head was thumping. She looked around seeing Savar looking much worse for wear than he had been before, she could only guess what had happened. She tried to sit up but didn’t succeed. “When I ... said shoot me ... I didn’t really mean it!”
Mal shook his head, and with Hesmil helped Heather to sit upright "Jad can be literal. I should have mentioned that. Just be glad he used stun. You've got a concussion. It could be worse."
“At least it explains why my head hurts!” Heather offered a brief smile. “So are we still on trial?” She looked towards Savar. “Are you alright Imzadi?”
Savar didn't reply immediately he was still coming down from a blood rage, blood seeped from the cuts on his face, but he did manage a short nod before he was able to say, "I am fine my love, are you alright?"
Heather smiled. “I’ve had worse Imzadi, I’ll be fine.” She could only hope that they had both proven themselves enough.
"I am grateful and relieved to hear that, Heather." Savar answered as he still leaned against the table leg.
Hesmil scanned him as the captains drew away into a huddle, then she turned to the woman who had stunned him, "He might need help to stand, but you can let him up."
THe mint green woman nodded, rising to her feet. She offered Savar a hand that was fading from the pale green to a violet, the apple green of hermany braids turning purple.
Behind her, Lianej, arms crossed was staring down the others. "You hear what Narira had to say. You've heard what they had to say. Short of finding anyone else to share tale, that's it. No more games. Time to vote. I say Aye. Agnyet?"
The woman with the pale pristine face shook her head. "Not after what was done to the woman from other universe. There are lines I won't cross. Nay."
The lurian gave Agnyet a nod of approval. "Nay."
The Andorian shrugged, the remaining half of his severed antenna flexing. "They're selfish fuckwits. But by that standard everyone in this room should end up down a mine. I say Aye."
"You're just as soft as Lia," the Ferengi grunted. "Nay."
Craite snorted and flicked his gaze over the pair with unconcealed contempt. "Soft doesn't begin to cover it. You should have spaced them the moment you realised what they were. Nay."
Lianej kept her face neutral, but next to Heather Mal winced, not just at the insult to Lianej, but at the maths. Two Ayes. But Four Nays.
"And your a humourless prat too fond of talking." Jad the nausicaan spit out another ball of bloody plegm from his ruined nose. "Aye."
Four Nays and three Ayes. Lianej turned to Malecho, looking hopeful. Another Nay would seal the terrans fate, but an Aye would split the council, and defenders won ties.
Savar had moved to stand next to Heather as the council voted. Right now the nays outnumbered the ayes by four to three with one vote left that would determine their fate. His hand slipped to hers as his fingers intertwined with hers.
Heather held onto Savar their love for each other truly showing as she looked upon him for comfort and support as they waited for the outcome of the vote.
Savar stood beside Heather. Their fingers intertwined. They would either be spared or executed. They would know their fate with the next vote.
"Malecho, Remember what I said." Lianej said, a plea to a friend.
The Hekaran gave her a flat look. "If your quarter master is right, and this isn't just post-trauma paranoia, then an Inquisitor and her henchman would have been just what we needed. But you've not brought us an Inquisitor."
She turned cold eyes on the pair. "Instead we have a simpering woman child who seems convinced she's the tragic heroine of a risian melodrama. And a pompous prig who seeks to lecture us from a moral high ground he's built from the lives he's sacrificed to preserve his own, even while his mind crumbles from a disease caught from forcing himself on others."
She turned back to Lianej. "I'm sorry, my friend. We'll handle the other thing between ourselves. You can shoot them, or blow them out the nearest airlock, but it's obvious their only cause is themselves, and I have no interest in excusing their crimes as a result. My vote is nay."
Savar was silent as he stood beside Heather and Malecho spouted her hypocrisy and nay vote. *So close minded. They cannot see the forest for the trees. All they see is their own pain and their own path, which will lead them to ruin, and destruction* He squeezed Heather's hand as they waited for the sentence to be carried out.
Heather squeezed Savar’s hand, her eyes filled with tears as she thought of the daughter they would never see again. At least she and Savar were together, not that she wanted him to die either, it seemed their fate was to die together.
Lianej's face was composed as her freiind declared her vote. With clenched jaw, she nodded. "Airlock 6 is closest. That will do."
The crew of the Sepent's Tooth siezed them, one large orion closing a meaty hand around Heather's arm and hauling her forward. Two more grabbed Savar, hauling him between them, and the color changing woman handed over her pain stick, to the one on his right, her violet hues turning to a dark and dirty gold.
Mal Garrison looked like he was about to mutiny. Lianej put her hand on his shoulder. He didn't throw it off, but he did slip away, leading them out into the market as the assorted pirate captains followed behind, past the stalls and the merchants and the chandlers. Heads turned as the made their little procession, Garrison pushing ahead of them, while the Two terrans were shoved forward to where could be seen aobve the crowd, a crudely stencilled sign: Airlock 6
Savar was the picture of Vulcan stoicism. His face a mask as he and Heather were seized and pushed forward toward their fate. Yet one thought was present in his mind. What had they been thinking coming to look for the rebels? They had wanted to add their talents and knowledge of Empire workings to the rebel's database and this was their fate. The rebels were just as paranoid as the Empire, not believing anyone who claimed to want to help their cause.
The door cycled open. Heather was practically thrown in. Garrison grabbed Savar and dragged him, using his whole body to wrestle him in.
And hiding the fact he was close enough to whisper into Savar's ear, "Breathe out. Close your eyes."
And then the human stood back, the inner door dropped between them like a falling tombstone, and the outer door started to open.
Heather scrambled to hold onto Savar, this was it, she was finally facing death and she would do it with the dignity Savar would expect of her.
Savar gave no indication he had heard Mal's words. When the inner door closed, he whispered to Heather, "Breathe out . Close your eyes."
And the outer door sprung open.
The sudden pressure differential sucked them into the freezing void, bodies rushing out amongst the stars. Saliva on their tongues bubbling as it evaporated, frost forming at their noses and ears and tear ducts; pains and cramps wracked their guts as the liquid in their bodies started to boil. The last few gasps of air evaporated out of their lungs, frozen puffs that caught for a moment on the bloody icicles at their nostrils, and was gone.
