Unofficial Literary Challenge 21 - "In the Darkness" - Prompt 2
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The man sat on the stiff bench looking up at Kathryn. With regulation-cut brown hair, thin mustache and soft blue eyes, he looked innocent. Yet the red-colored yoke of his uniform was torn at the shoulder and was scuffed in other places from the security team during his apprehension. The Lieutenant didn’t look apologetic or remorseful, which insulted Kathryn further.
Kathryn pursed her lips as she considered her words, imagining herself repeatedly punching his face. Glancing over a shoulder to her First Officer, adrenaline ebbed as a result of Anthi’s presence. Looking back to the man sitting in front of her, Kathryn bristled at the thought of interrogating him for information. She would rather let JAG have him but Solaris was at least two standard days away from a Federation outpost and Kathryn hunted for closure. She was personally offended from the action of the prisoner before her.
“My ship. This is my ship.” Kathryn spoke through clenched teeth as she pointed to her sternum. Her tone sharpened and rose with each word. “Why did you try to start a mutiny on my ship!
“It didn’t work, did it? Your crew is commendably loyal to you.”
Kathryn stepped forward. Anthi lowered the shield to the brig and entered the room, stopping when Kathryn raised a hand to halt her XO, also showing she was still in control.
“To Starfleet,” the Captain calmly corrected. “Tell me why.”
The man tsked, and then looked away.
Kathryn grinned and walked into his field of view. Turning back to the prisoner, she leaned against the wall and feigned a relaxed pose. “What happened to cause your brazen attempt to control my ship.”
“As long as I’m in this room, then I do not have to follow your orders. A court-martial is the worst I’ll get from Starfleet now.”
Anthi crossed her arms and hmphed audibly. This earned the man’s attention as if he was disrespected somehow.
“What’s that supposed to mean? You know the regulations- .”
“We’ll see about that,” Kathryn interrupted. Looking to Anthi, she asked unsympathetically, “did you apologize by the way? Pistol-whipping is not your style.”
The prisoner put a hand to the back of his head absentmindedly.
Anthi’s antennae stiffened. “I’m sorry. Traitor.”
The man grew more defiant. “Name calling now?”
“It’s not an opinion. You have no name with me.”
Kathryn stepped forward and smirked. “Look, answer my question and this will stay … relatively easy for you. Otherwise, when we get to Starbase Nineteen, I’m sure Admiral Liao will take a keen interest in your actions and act with absolute righteousness.”
Surprised, the man looked to the Captain. “We are not going to Deep Space Four?”
Kathryn quickly concealed her own surprise. The mutineer incriminated himself enough by expecting to go to a specific outpost. She needed to exploit the hole in his bulwark. “Why should we? Solaris almost had a mutiny on his hands! It seems fitting Liao would get the case; he is an expert on such matters, not that it happens often. Admittedly, I have not sent an update to our current orders. It’s a little out-of-the way, so you have a little bit of time to save yourself from ‘The Diablo’, wouldn’t you agree?”
The man seemed dazed by the revelation. “But … I was told-“. He interrupted himself and lowered his head, hands rubbing together nervously.
Anthi and Kathryn exchanged looks. The Captain mocked, “You look a little worried.” She then got serious. “You should be. In ancient times, mutiny was punishable by death. It’s good we have evolved past such barbarism, but that doesn’t mean the law isn’t still harsh. Count yourself lucky that your recruits surrendered your plans instead of acting with you. All they did was follow the words. But you decided to storm the bridge. It must have been a shock to see your compatriots turn on you.”
Perspiration started to fall from the man’s hairline as he rubbed his hands with increasing vigor. He whispered, “this … can’t be happening.”
Kathryn’s uneasiness with his reaction started to cause concern. Blocking her sympathy, Kathryn focused her attack and forced a congenial tone. Verbal strong-arming the man had weakened his defenses; maybe softer words would open the gates. “Just talk to me. The truth will set you free, from a certain point of view. Convince me of your intentions and I’ll help make consequences less severe. Throughout the Iconian War to now, have I ever mislead the crew … or you?”
With hands trembling slightly, the Lieutenant’s mouth opened and closed as if he wanted to say something, but was stopped, then another force pushed him to speak only to retreat again.
Anthi’s patience broke and she put a foot forward with raised fists. “SAY SOMETHING!”
The outburst shocked the prisoner. “It was a t-t-TEST!”
The silence was thick in the room as the man darted looked between the two women. Kathryn’s countenance darkened.
“What ... ”
“It – it was a test: the mutiny. I was ordered to start a – a sedition to discover how you would behave, how the crew would react.”
Kathryn and Anthi were equally dumbfounded from the revelation. Anthi recovered first, her anger quelled by confusion.
“Why?”
The man buckled and spoke rapidly. “It was known the Undine had penetrated several ranks with the Federation. Even after a purge, it highlighted several weaknesses. Starfleet was attacked from within and that was seen as unforgivably unacceptable. Before the Iconian war, several officers, like me, were recruited, trained and celled within several ships of the Fleet. The War allowed our handlers to target specific crews who underperformed during the conflict.”
Karthryn stiffened at the accusation. “Starfleet ordered Solaris away from the front-lines for most of the war!”
“It didn’t matter to some.” The prisoner lowered his head, ashamed. “Water had to be as thick as blood.”
Anthi took a step forward, her antennae leaning toward the prisoner. “Who did you report to?”
Sitting back to gain distance from the Andorian, the man blurted. “Section 31”.
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Cast for crew:
Kathryn Beringer - Rachel Nichols
Anthi Ythysi - Katheryn Winnick
Mutineer - Aiden Gillen
Mentioned but not seen:
Maximilian Liao - James Hong
