A Terrible End To The Dance

Posted on Wed Jul 22nd, 2026 @ 2:11pm by Lonian Royal Sovereignty & Lieutenant Commander N'vok Holv & Lieutenant Anna Esquivias & Lieutenant Damien Blackford

Mission: Season 6: Episode 7: Crossroads of Destiny
Location: Niea IV : Detention Centre (true location unknown)
Timeline: MD4 Late Morning
1220 words - 2.4 OF Standard Post Measure

Damien glanced at Varinity, giving her what he hoped was a comforting 'don't worry. I got this' Smile, before the guards transported them all away.

Varinity gave Damien a look that asked him to be careful as he disappeared. A few seconds passed, then a minute. The longer her communicator remained silent, the more concerned she got. After about five minutes, she gave in and hit her communicator. "Atoro to Blackford. Some friends are going for drinks later and I'm saving you a seat. What do you want?" Her breath began to quicken as the silence grew. He wouldn't drag out a prank like this, considering the tense situation. "Damien, respond!"

"We can share more information if you join us at the precinct," the first one said. "We don't wish to cause the public unnecessary alarm, especially since the threat has been mitigated."

"We have no wish to disrupt the festivities," says N'vok. "Let us go so we can get this sorted."

With a nod, the guards got closer before muttering something into their communicators. Then, a transporter beam enveloped the four of them.


A bunch of transporter beams appeared, depositing the Elysium crew and the guards who had approached them into an enclosed room. No windows were present to indicate where they had gone; it was just an empty space, a door, and guards. Including the guards that transported in, there were easily at least two guards per person.

Once the transport completed, some of the guards raised their weapons toward the Elysium crew, a series of hums giving away their power cycling, while others approached, handcuffs at the ready. The weapons were small, no bigger than hand phasers, but a faint crackle of energy from the tips hinted to a rather unpleasant tase if hit. "By order of the Sovereignty, you are under arrest for misprision of treason!" One of the guards barked. "Do not resist!"

The guards that had transported in with the crew began separating them, reaching for arms to restrain them.

As soon as the transport beam dropped and the surroundings came into view, the pit in Damien's stomach tightened. Seeing the amount of guards and weapons pointed at him, and what appeared to be a few other members of his crew, Damien's training instincts kicked in. Dropping into a slight crouch, he silently cursed his choice not to bring a phaser with him on the hike. In all honesty, he hadn't thought he'd need one. As one of the guards approached from behind and grabbed his wrist, he quickly pulled it free and slammed his elbow back into the guard's face, the audible 'crunch' letting him know it had connected. He raised his hands into a defensive position, head constantly swiveling round, determined to keep as many as he could in his field of vision at all times.

"This is most irregular," said N'vok. "I protest at this treatment . . ." his further reply being drowned out by Damien's kinetic action. "Lieutenant, stand down! Fighting will not avail us anything at this point."

The guard who got a faceful of elbow staggered back, his hand beneath his chin as if it would stop the blood flow. Another guard saw this and charged forward, intent on giving Damien the same treatment.

Damien saw the other guard charging at him out of the corner of his eye, and quickly dropped into a crouch, ducking under the guards fist as it came towards him. As he moved, he kicked out, his foot connecting with the back of the guard's knee, causing him to stumble, and drop his weapon. Damien dashed forward, picking the unfamiliar device up, and straightening up to his full height, weapon trained on the first guard he saw.

The guards who were further back in the order stepped forward, weapons raised, and shouted at him to drop the weapon.

It was then that he heard N’Vok’s order. Eyes narrowed, his hand curled around the small, unfamiliar weapon, finger hovering over the trigger. Time seemed to stand still. Seconds felt like hours as he stared down the guards around him, before finally releasing his grip on the gun, dropping it to the floor, and kicking it back towards the guards, raising his hands in a motion of surrender.

N'vok nodded and stepped between the armed guards and Damien. "When you transport people without warning and then threaten them with weapons, you have to expect them to react to defend themselves. Now, we have surrendered; there is no need for further violence." N'vok was already consciously relaxing his body against the expected stun shots from the guards.

The guards kept their weapons raised, mainly toward Damien, but it was clear that N'vok was in the crossfire if they did escalate. "On the ground! Now!"

"Surely that is not necessary," said N'vok, doing his best to shield Anna and Damien. "We are cooperating." He looked for the officer in command, seeking to meet his gaze. "Again, had you not transported the Lieutenant without warning, you would not have provoked such a response from him. But we are willing to work with you now to get this resolved without further violence or unpleasantness."

"We mean no harm," Anna said. "We're cooperating. We respect local law." Her arm twitched a little. She looked up to N'vok. Then her eyes lowered.

While surely there was room to interpret the aliens' words as sincere, the guards did not have orders to be nice. There was already tension from Damien's resistance, and it kept guard tensions high. "I said on the ground!!"

"As you wish," said N'vok, as he knelt, gesturing for the others to do the same. "But this is unnecessary. We are cooperating."

Damien glanced around the room, muscles and body still tensed, prepared for anything. At N'vok's gesture, he made to kneel, but before he had the chance to so much as even twitch a toe, one of the guards slammed their weapon into his stomach, whilst another kicked his knees out from under him. Damien collapsed to the floor, feeling the breath leave his body, swearing he heard something inside him crack.

The guards used the opportunity to pull Damien's hands behind his back and into the restraints.

"That wasn't necessary!" Anna said angrily, even as she slowly knelt on the ground, crossing her wrists behind the small of her back.

Once they kneeled, guards rushed in before they could interfere with Damien. They quickly grabbed arms and restrained them. After a quick pat down to make sure there was no hidden weapons or anything, the guards pulled Anna and N'vok up and out of the room, leaving the remaining guards to wrestle Damien into compliance.

As the others were pulled to their feet and led away, Damien suddenly realised he wasn't being taken with them. "Where are you taking them?" He asked, starting to struggle again. "What are you doing?"

"What's going to happen to Lieutenant Blackford?" Anna demanded.

"Please, this all pointless. We are here to help, this violence is counterproductive," said N'vok.

The guards ignored their questions as Anna and N'vok were pushed through a set of doors. The last thing they saw was a guard tasing Damien in the side for fighting them before the doot slid shut.