Tanna sat on the edge of the bed, frozen in disbelief, her cheek burning slightly from his hand. It wasn’t so much the slap, but the emotion behind it. He found my nerve, but I also found his, she thought to herself. She tipped backwards and flopped down onto the thin mattress, letting out a deep sigh. The ration bar she had been given was starting to wear thin, and her stomach growled out in protest.

“Oh, shut up” she said aloud to it, letting her voice echo off the bare metallic walls. Eventually, some goons would show up, take her to a room, rough her up a bit and dump her back here. It seemed to happen at regular intervals, but she couldn’t be sure how long the times in between were. She rolled over onto her side, stroking her implant with her hand, waiting for the next round of torture.

The door of the cell banging open woke Tanna suddenly. She hadn’t even realized she had drifted off, but she was grateful for the sleep she had gotten. She was forced out of bed by the guards, and stood on her feet. When they attempted to cover her eyes, she shook her head violently in defiance. One of them punched her hard in the stomach, and she dropped to her knees, retching and gasping for air. He tied the blindfold over her eyes, then lifted her bodily to her feet. “Walk” he demanded.

It took longer than it had the previous times to reach their destination, hinting at the fact that they were going somewhere else, not the interrogation room Tanna had gotten used to. On their way, the air and the sound of their footsteps changed.

This isn’t right. Tanna thought as she was half led, half dragged along corridor after corridor. Where are they taking me? We should have been there by now. Tanna was starting to panic. She tried to break free from the sturdy grip of the guards, pulling and thrashing her arms around. She was struck hard in the face again, causing her to lose balance and fall to the deck. One of the guards booted her hard in the ribs, and picked her back up.

“That’s enough of that. Or you’ll get more.” one of them said.

“Where are you taking me?” Tanna asked, gasping and choking for air.

The guard laughed. “You’ll find out when we get there!” 

Eventually, Tanna’s blindfold was removed, and to her surprise, she found herself on the bridge of a small vessel, equipped with outdated, but functional, tech. She let out a breath of relief.

Velik stood there, waiting patiently for Tanna’s eyes to adjust to the light, before eventually he spoke. “You have a way to communicate with your ship, yes?”, he asked calmly.

“Why?” Tanna asked sharply, placing her hand on her face where he had struck her.

“I want you to send them a message. You are alive and…” he looked her up and down, then shot a glare to one of his guards “… reasonably healthy. And you are to be traded for a medical device like the one you are wearing.”

“What about the others?” She demanded, taking a step towards him. The guards took a step as well, ready to subdue her if needed. “Will you release them as well?”

“Just you. The rest will have to be negotiated.”, Velik insisted. He did, of course, not mention that Shahr was an asset he would like to keep for his education in science, and that Stroyer had somehow managed to escape.

Tanna took another step forward. “That’s ridiculous!” she shouted at him, “You can’t expect me to leave my crewmates here.”

“That is the deal I am willing to make.”, he said calmly. “And while I understand it is not your preference, it is still what my initial offer will be.”

Tanna thought for a moment. She knew somehow that this Reman actually needed this piece, even if he wouldn’t tell her why. She started towards him, slowly and calmly. “Okay…” she said finally. “I’ll do it for you. But those two,” she pointed to the guards who had brought her here, “are not to lay a hand, or foot, on me ever again, and I won’t make trouble, as long as I have your word you will release me. Is that acceptable?”

Velik nodded, before he eyed Tanna up and down. “It appears I have given them too many liberties as it is. You have to understand, they are used to dealing with… less reasonable individuals.”

He had never been particularly fond of their physical means of interrogation, but sometimes it was useful. So he mostly let them do their thing.

Tanna followed one of the guards to a console on the starboard side of the small bridge, and waited for him to input some console commands. After a minute he straightened up and took a step back, holding his hand out as a offer for her to take his place. She stepped up to the console, and took a look back at her captor.

“Send them a message. Let them know you are alive, and reasonably well, and lay out the terms of your release.”

Tanna turned back to the console, and pressed the button to begin recording her message. “This is Ensign Irovin, to the USS Valkyrie. I am alive, and healthy. I’ve been told that my captors are willing to return me safely in exchange for a bionic brace, like mine. They’ve made no promises about the other two.” She pressed the button again to stop, and turned back to Velik. “Satisfied?” she asked him as she stepped away from the console.

“Very.”, he nodded approvingly.

He looked at the guards who had brought her here, and ordered them to bring her back to her cell – and to honour their agreement.

A few minutes later, Tanna sat on her bed with her back to the wall. True to her word, she made no attempts to run or escape as she was led, unblindfolded, back to her cell. How long will it take to reach them? Are they even still here? Her head was swimming with questions like this, and she was disheartened at the lack of answers. All she could do now is wait, and hope her rescue came swiftly.