Products of Vengeance

Posted on Fri Mar 31st, 2023 @ 9:06pm by Lieutenant Commander Lyra Cassiel & Lieutenant Commander Andrei Petrov
Edited on on Fri Mar 31st, 2023 @ 9:06pm

Mission: In-Between (S1:E4-S1:E5)
Location: Holodeck
Timeline: Mission Day 3 at 1815
3871 words - 7.7 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

To strip a person of everything they had once been and remake them into something new was no easy task, but it had been one embraced with fervor and great enjoyment by both Andrei and Lyra. It was the final step in Andrei reasserting his power and dominance over the dogs that had nearly destroyed him and Lyra had been there to support him at each step whether it had been overtly or simply providing the comfort and security of her presence. There had been more than one night where she had briefly woken to him holding onto her just a bit tighter with his face buried into her neck or hair. She had wondered if he had nightmares about what was done to him, but of course she had never asked; she had merely held him a little tighter in return.

The process had been a silent one enacted mostly from afar; on occasion, their most loyal hounds had been sent over to enact certain orders but they were none the wiser to the true purpose of some of the things they were told to do. Today Andrei and Lyra would see the fruits of their labor. Lyra stood in the holodeck in her uniform. The scene before her was that of an Imperial dropship; the seats were empty outside of gear for their Praetorian Kazon to put on. It was all holographic of course, and the safeties were on in case anything were to go awry. Lyra was armed with her phaser as per usual. She watched as finally columns of blue light shimmered in front of her and the ten Kazon appeared wearing only undergarments and nothing more.

“Kneel.” She commanded and with deep satisfaction she watched them immediately comply with her command; there was no hesitation. She watched them and waited for Andrei to beam in to join them. The Kazon would not know this was a simulation. As far as they knew they had simply been beamed onto an actual dropship.

A few seconds lapsed before another transporter beam sent Andrei Petrov shimmering into existence. He wore his uniform with a Shashka in a scabbard at his waist and a phaser rifle across his back. His bionic eye was obscured by the patch as always, and his look was serious as he gazed on the Kazon. He wanted to see how they would react to his presence. He wanted to see it in their eyes.

The Kazon looked to Andrei and then immediately lowered their heads to him; submissive and subservient and awaiting his command. Lyra was pleased and stole a look at Andrei from the corner of her eye to simply admire him as he lorded over their loyal dogs. They would take commands from either Andrei or Lyra, but Andrei’s commands were paramount and they had both made sure of it. Lyra had even done so with seemingly no hesitation or gripes during the process.

Andrei looked down at the Kazon, the ones who had taken the largest part in his torture…in his humiliation, and a thin smile appeared on his lips. They were nothing but his playthings now. He looked at Cerron in particular, his hatred obvious in his eye for a moment. These eunuchs would serve now, and rebellion had been ripped from their hearts by the very root. They would be the fathers of a century of Kazon who would fight so fiercely and kill so brutally, that they would make the quadrant quake in fear. He looked to Lyra, his expression clear. She had done this with him and for him.

“Stand.” was all he said to the Kazon.

As one, the Kazon stood with their heads still bowed. Lyra stepped to Andrei’s side, her eyes finding his and her approval readily advertised there, but there was something more. Behind it there was the steady, comforting presence she had offered to him from the moment she had visited him in sickbay after the incident on the Lovarr; the same presence that within ten minutes gave him strength and made him laugh and play again. She kissed his shoulder through his uniform, then moved to step just slightly behind him to his side.

“Today, you will have a chance to prove your loyalty to me and to the Great Terran Empire. Serve well, follow orders, and you will be smiled upon. Fail, and you will be condemned.” he said, his eyes falling on each of their faces, his eyes skimming their bald heads, a sign that they were now different from other Kazon. “Do you understand me, soldiers?”

Again as one, the Kazon responded with the sound they had been taught to make that equated to “yes” given that they didn’t have tongues anymore… and words were for people, not hounds. Lyra stepped away then briefly to arm herself with a holographic rifle while Andrei spoke to the Kazon. She wouldn’t interfere unless asked. This was for Andrei, it was his moment and she would not press unless invited, but she was most definitely paying attention to whether she was or not.

“The Inquisitor will explain how you will best please me today; how you will best serve the Empire and the father of this fleet.” Andrei said, stepping back slightly and nodding at Lyra to take the floor. She had designed the program, after all.

Lyra had gone along with Andrei’s plans for how he wished to structure the education of the Kazon, but she hadn’t really agreed with it (though she had remained silent and unreadable as ever on that front). To have put Ivan and Yana in the positions of “father” and “mother” like some out of reach gods seemed a rather dubious choice were Andrei to ever move against his father - she knew he would never move against Yana, though she wasn’t sure how Yana would react if Andrei were to move against Ivan. It would be interesting to be sure, though she knew how she would have felt in the woman’s position given all the facts.

What was done was done however and she accepted it. She moved back to where Andrei stood and as she did so, she pulled one of the spear tipped short rods off from her hip. She twirled it in her hand and activated it, making it extend out into a full length spear. She tapped the deck forcefully twice with it, and the Kazon immediately straightened and came to a parade rest. They had no shame that they were still nearly naked, they were simply obedient.

“Century,” she began, her voice firm and commanding, “we are approaching a Kazon settlement that is harboring a sect of rebels who have chosen to rise up against their betters. Your first task is to quell the opposition by destroying it. No mercy. Do you understand?”

The Kazon made an affirmative sound.

Lyra extended her free hand out toward the seats with the gear. “You have been provided all you will need. Find your names, dress and arm yourselves, and then sit down. Now.”

They turned and did as she asked without any hesitation, each Kazon quickly locating his name and equipping himself properly. As they did so, she turned and looked at Andrei. He could see she was getting excited, but it was restrained.

Andrei watched as the Kazon dressed themselves in their special all-black gear. This secret group of ten would be the leaders of an elite small army; one with no mercy, no conscience, no disobedience, and no need for a soul. He looked at Lyra again, his expression pleased and eager. He was finally making good on his promise to his torturers. They were the last of the Kazon from the Lovarr, and had killed the others under duress. Hundreds of souls slaughtered. These men were animals now, and he had won. His smile was broad now, and triumphant.

Lyra’s smile grew in response to his and she moved to him. Her free hand found his chest and her lips found his jaw and then eventually his lips. The Kazon knew that the two came as a pair, so it wasn’t like they had anything to hide. Not that the Kazon cared, they followed orders and their eyes never wandered in curiosity anymore.

“Ready, darling?” She asked as the Kazon finished up and sat down behind her.

He received the kiss without reservation and had even found his hand on her bottom gently.

“I’m ready. If they pass this test, we can talk about the next phase.” He said, and then he kissed her again. The next time he spoke, it was slow and quiet; breathy. “Thank you.”

Lyra looked into his eyes as if she could simply see past the patch he was wearing and was gazing at him unhindered; she offered silent understanding and acceptance of his thanks, but she didn’t speak. Instead, she simply kissed him again, slowly and passionately. Perhaps his thanks was genuine, she chose to believe it was and that he realized what she had given him in his time of weakness that went unacknowledged but fully known by both of them. Her body pressed slightly to his and her arm slid around his middle. Hers. His.

Love? Probably.

Her fingers found his cheek and she touched him gently, lingering just a moment longer and stealing one more kiss before she broke away and moved to sit in one of the vacant seats so the program could continue.

The dropship sailed down to its target area and began to shake and shudder as they were fired on. It was something that would have made even seasoned soldiers slightly nervous, but the Kazon sat perfectly passive in their seats. Lyra wouldn’t have been concerned, it would have simply served to focus her more, but given they were in no danger at all she simply observed their soldiers and couldn’t help but be pleased at even the little she had seen so far. She had of course known the theory of breaking a person - she had even had some of the methods put into practice against her - but she had never been there from start to end to see it all come to fruition. Another violent shake would have unseated them had they not been strapped in, and a rough landing followed soon after. As the craft came to rest, their harnesses came off and Lyra tapped her spear on the deck again.

“Up.”

They stood at once and she stood after them, though she looked to Andrei to give their orders to proceed.

“Century, roll out. Leave no one alive.” he ordered curtly. He was eager to see how they killed, and if they would do it with the full measure of heartless devotion he had demanded.

To those who were unaware of the horrors that the Kazon had been subjected to achieve this level of control and dominance, the display would have been impressive. In two columns of five they turned toward the hatch, waiting for it to open, and when it did they began to march out in step with each other. It was flawless. They put on a good show, but their fight would be the proof.

Lyra moved to follow, but not before giving one more look to Andrei that communicated simple pleasure and enjoyment of the moment. They had done this together.

In the village, women and children had all been carefully hidden away in their homes as the men, armed with phasers and household items, took up positions around the community like guerilla fighters. They didn’t know what they were doing, but they were fighting for their lives and those of their families; they would fight fiercely. All was silent besides the sound of the landing drop ship.

The men nearest the ship watched with knitted brows as the ten Kazon exited the ship in neat rows. There were fewer of them than expected. This would be easy.

“OPEN FIRE!” came the voice of a man who clearly held command over the ragtag militia. “For our families; for our freedoms; for Kazon everywhere!”

The two columns immediately broke apart and the Kazon sought cover as they were fired upon. They were laser focused on their target and began to return fire in kind. They were not the best marksmen at this point in time - that hadn’t been the focus of their reeducation after all - but it would come in time with continued training. The rebel Kazon would not go down easily, but at this moment it seemed like their reshaped soldiers had no qualms firing on their own people. All they saw were enemies of the Empire, of the Son and Inquisitor.

Lyra remained back with Andrei just to observe, though her attention was split between the Kazon and Andrei himself to gauge his satisfaction with what was playing out before them; she was always observing.

Andre’s visible eye moved rapidly between the Kazon on their side and the ones huddled around buildings. He watched as men screamed and died. He watched the panic on the faces of the rebels. But his Kazon was silent. They were calm. He looked at them, and the sensor readings which his patch provided proved that they were perfectly at ease. No bit of fear, question, or conscience. They were monsters. He smiled.

“Century, advance. Slowly. Show them they have no chance.” he said. He reached for a device on his belt, a smile on his face, and turned to the nearest of their Kazon. It was an explosive device that would devastate the area it affected. “Throw this at them as hard as you can.”

The Kazon he had handed it to took it in his hand and regarded it for a moment. His hand moved up and down as if he were testing the weight; once he was satisfied, he activated the device and did precisely as he had been ordered and threw the explosive toward one of the rebel Kazon outside of one of the buildings. The result wasn’t instant, but after about two seconds, the man and the entire building exploded in a fiery display which caused sheer panic. Women and children began to flee from the safety of where they had been hidden away, too terrified to remain.

“Remind me one of these days I need to introduce you to Sekhmet.” Lyra mentioned offhand as she continued to watch.

“Women; children. Kill them.” Andrei ordered coldly. It was extremely cruel and so soberly ordered that one had to wonder if he would have done the same if they hadn't been on the holodeck. He eyed her for a second. “Sekhmet? The ancient Goddess of War and Healing? Or a friend of yours?”

“A friend in a fashion.” Lyra replied without more explanation. She of course had no qualms with the order - she had ordered women and children burned alive in one of their viking simulations weeks back after all. Unlike Andrei though, there was certainly less doubt on if she would do so in the real world. She watched as their Kazon obeyed without question and the women and children began to fall along with the remaining men. It simply spread more terror and upheaval in the moment.

The Kazon in the village, seeing that they were losing badly and having watched several members of their families shot dead, retreated into the village further, apparently going to some sort of Plan B scenario. The fire fight stopped and their opponents disappeared. Andrei stepped out.

“Century, form up. We’re going to mount a full campaign of terror; shock and awe. Break formation and go. Use guerrilla tactics to track down and kill every single Kazon you can find.”

The ten gave a unified sound of acknowledgement and then broke apart into teams of two as they were trained to start out as. Unless it was necessary, it was foolish to go alone in a situation like this. As the moments passed, the terrified screams of the “innocent” civilians began to fill the air as they were caught and exterminated like the vermin that they were. Filth, unworthy of the grace of the Terran presence. Were they not loyal soldiers, these Kazon would have suffered the same fate.

A soft, satisfied sigh passed Lyra’s lips as she stood by Andrei’s side. She was quite content with what she was seeing so far. They would of course require more training, but what she and Andrei had accomplished together was excellent.

“Wonderful…” She purred.

He reached his hand over and quickly grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly.

“This quadrant isn’t ready for us, Mad Maddie. Not by a long shot.” He said with quiet confidence, the screams of the Kazon rebels filling his ears. He was sure the scene up close was satisfying in the extreme, but he was content to stand here with her and listen, knowing their soldiers were carrying out their orders to the letter.

“It really, really isn’t.” Lyra agreed and moved slightly to slide an arm around his waist. “We’ll make even more of these… there’s bound to be even more impressive species that we can break and bend to our wills. Then when we return home… the people of the Empire shall tremble in awe.”

“An army of the most loyal and soulless soldiers ever seen.” He said, gazing past the village. “We could put our method to good use and then we can replicate it with alpha quadrant species.”

“It would be magnificent with legions of Cardassians and Klingons, don’t you think?” She all but cooed with delight at the thought, her fingers lightly moving on his side in an idle manner. “I think they’d look good with the Kazon. Very intimidating and fitting.”

“A legion of good and obedient dogs. That would be grand. Perhaps a few Nausicaans for good measure, even. We could drop them on an innocent world for a bit of a…demonstration of their abilities.” he continued, his face practically glowing with the possibilities. “But what will the old man say when I tell him what we’ve done in our spare time? Perhaps he’ll resist; order them destroyed?”

Lyra lifted her shoulders in a slight shrug. She really didn’t much care what the man thought, though she knew she probably should. She’d be joining her lover in punishment after all. “The Kazon were given to you to do as you pleased… this is what you pleased.”

“I don’t think my father suspects me of any treachery at all, so he shouldn’t be threatened.” he said with a grin on his face. It was devious but quiet, and its meaning wasn’t clear. “I too have been obedient and docile, as you advised me. He likes having his son back, as he styles it.”

Lyra made a face at those words like she had just tasted something bad. “Well, it isn’t like we didn’t include the rest of your family in positions in this process, so I imagine he wouldn’t be.”

Much to her dismay they had added them.

“There is a price to playing the long game, love. One can’t take all the credit.” he said, looking at her with an expression that was almost comforting in nature. “But a broken mind can be extremely flexible. Who knows what the future might hold?”

“Greatness.” She replied simply and squeezed his side. It had been silent for a few moments now, and she saw their Kazon had begun to move back to them, each one filthy and bloody. “This went very well today. We will have to consider what other kind of training we want to give them.”

“Now we make them fighting machines, and teach them to do battle to the standard of the Empire.” he said, considering how they might grow next. “And then we find more, and we do the same.”

“Of course, darling.” She nodded and released him as the Kazon came to stand back in a straight line before them. They waited for the orders of their masters. Lyra simply smiled and looked to Andrei to see if he wanted to do anything else with them, or if they were done with their little experiment for today. She was satisfied, but he might not have been.

“You have served the Empire. You have served me.” Andrei said. It was the highest compliment they were designed to process. Any more, and they would no longer understand. Then he stepped aside so they could enter the ship again. He watched them, the smoking village flaming in the background; scary silent.

“Well done.” She added in a smoothly feminine voice. Praise from them both would most definitely send the Kazon’s pleasure centers firing as they had been reformed to do so. As they retreated into the dropship, she looked up to Andrei. “Shall we return them to their cage then?”

Andrei looked again at their smiling Kazon. It was a look that no longer suited them, and was actually quite frightening. They seemed to be in positive ecstasy at the praise they had received from them. He raised an eyebrow and Lyra.

“I’ve seen everything I need to see for now, love. You’ve done a fantastic job through all of this. I’m really impressed.”

Lyra smiled at Andrei’s praise and lifted his hand to kiss his wrist. Praise was rare leaving his lips - genuine praise, at least. As she looked into his eyes though she could tell that it was and it did make her feel good.

“Thank you for letting me be a part of it.” He didn’t have to and she knew that, so she wanted to give voice to her appreciation.

“Oh, it wouldn’t be nearly as fun or rewarding without you.” He said, his hand coming up to gently caress her face. “Now, just a few more weeks of training and then we can read in my old man.”

Lyra leaned her cheek into his touch while her dark gaze rested on his. She was delighted on many levels. “Of course, darling. Hopefully he will be pleased with this accomplishment. It could mean a lot for us out here and when we return home.”

She turned her head to kiss his palm and then his wrist a few more times. “Let’s put the puppies back in their cage, then.”

Andrei accepted the kisses with a look of pleasant ease, watching the beautiful woman’s lips make contact with his skin over and over.

“Computer,” he said,” initiate transport.”

The subtle sound of a transporter process could be heard beyond the doors of the drop ship as the computer whisked the Kazon back to their secluded barracks on the Lovarr. Then Andrei licked his lips to wet them, seeming to move on in his mind to the next thing.

“End program.”

END