The Carnage is Dripping Through the Floor Boards

Posted on Mon Aug 22nd, 2022 @ 7:15pm by Lieutenant Commander Lyra Cassiel & Ensign Jeffrey Simmons & Cerron
Edited on on Fri Dec 2nd, 2022 @ 2:49am

Mission: In-Between (S1:E3-S1:E4)
Location: ISS Lovarr
Timeline: Mission Day 1 at 0600
2038 words - 4.1 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

“Lieutenant.”

Madeline lowered the PADD she had been looking at. “Still reluctant then, are they?”

“Yes, sir.”

Madeline managed to keep the cruel smile off of her face and instead gave the sigh of a person who was about to do something that they did not wish to do, but were duty bound to perform. She turned to face Jeffrey Simmons then and considered him, over the past few days and with very little effort, he had become quite loyal it seemed and he was quick to volunteer to be at her side. Fear and lust was a powerful combination. She gave him a slight smile and nodded gravely.

“I thought this might happen. Very well.” She sighed again and adjusted something on the PADD. “Take teams and pull the Kazon leaders from their rooms and bring them to the cargo hold, then I want you to find ten of the youngest Kazon on the ship and bring them there as well. Follow these instructions. You have forty-five minutes.” Madeline handed the PADD to Simmons. “Understood?”

“Yes, sir.” Simmons lingered just a moment, looking like he was going to say something to her but thought better of it and left.

Again, Madeline just sighed and leaned back in the chair she was sitting in. She was in Andrei’s quarters - well, one of his apparent two rooms on the Lovarr. She didn’t really put any thought into why he had two rooms, but they were a far sight more comfortable than anything else. It had been easier to stay here to get everything going instead of returning to the Vengeance. Not that she was overly keen to do so with Christoph’s desire for a conversation awaiting her when she returned. She was not afraid, but she knew whatever it would be would test her patience and she found herself without an abundance of that particular trait at the moment thanks to these filthy Kazon.

Maddie stood and moved over to the dresser that she had cleared the top of to put a few of her own things for easy access. Picking up a wrapped leather bundle, she returned to the chair and threw her legs over one arm while her back pressed against the other. She unraveled the bundle in her lap and pulled out one of the small blades inside along with a whetstone. A little tune began to fill the room as she hummed softly to herself while going about sharpening the blades.

Perhaps a lesson would do everyone a little good today.

Forty-five minutes later, she walked into the cargo bay and was pleased to see her orders had been carried out. The Kazon leaders along with Cerron were bound on their knees and secured to the floor while the ten young Kazon men - most of whom looked to barely be men - were restrained against the wall, their arms over their heads and their feet up off the floor and shackled together at the ankles so they were left dangling. All were naked before her. She moved between the leaders and those on the wall then turned to face the bound men on the floor.

“What wretched creatures you are. Even after all you have done you were offered another mercy and you refuse.” She tutted her tongue and turned from them, now moving to the younger Kazon at the wall. From her belt she pulled a short knife with a wide, curved blade and spun it around in her fingers. “More enjoyable for me, really.” Madeline started at the end of the row and began to drag the blade along the chests of the hanging Kazon. She walked slowly, making a single thin line, though her attention wasn’t on the blade. No, her eyes were still on the leaders as she made her cut; she was watching.

There it was.

One of the leaders had shifted when she cut into a particular one of the young men, his expression growing darker and heated with hatred. It had been a guess, but a solid one in her mind. These men were leaders of a rebellion seeking freedom, what better fuel to drive it than a beloved family member also collared and forced into servitude. Not tipping her hand quite yet, she continued down the line until she was finished.

“You could have given your men swift, merciful deaths but now…” Madeline moved back down to the young man who had elicited a reaction from one of the leaders and leveled her gaze on the one who had moved and smiled so very sweetly. “My turn.”

She knelt down, using the sharp blade to cut around the circumference of the young Kazon’s ankles, paying no mind to his screams or the way he tried and failed to struggle against his binds. Without pause, she reached up to his hip and traced the knife along the joint there. He was pleading already and she hadn’t really even done anything. Her eyes moved up to his face where he was looking down at her with fear. Maddie simply smiled up at him with sympathy. “Just remember everything that happens to you is their fault. They refused to kill you quickly when they had that option. Don’t cry to me for only doing what I must.”

She slid the tip of the blade under his skin at the hip and rotated it down toward his ankle, grabbing the top bit of skin with her free hand, the one that held the blade began to travel down. The screams now were frantic, crazed. He fought but could do nothing. He looked out to the leaders, pleading for them to help.

“If any of you try to look away I’ll cut out your eyelids.” Madeline threatened and continued the slow motion of her hand. Eventually, the long strip came free and she stood with it, walking over to the Kazon leader who was clearly in the most distress from watching the display, the one who had given the initial reaction in the first place.

“I brought you something.” She said and proceeded to drape the thick strip of flesh over his shoulders. She watched him try to recoil and shake it off, but it was no use. As Madeline returned to the young man to continue her task, she spoke again.

“This could have all been avoided through obedience. The suffering of all of you could have been avoided through obedience, but no.” She stood again, walking over to the Kazon and draping the second piece around him. He spit on her boots and Maddie just laughed, wiping the side of the blade down his face.

“We’ll see how long your defiance lasts.” She stepped back then and looked at the group as a whole. “Now then, are there any among you who have changed your minds?” A pleased expression appeared on her face when over half of them gave a decisive “yes, mistress” but then shifted to a frown as she clicked her tongue.

“See that’s a shame. It needs to be unanimous or I just can’t accept it. Oh well, back to what I was doing then I suppose. Wake him up.” She commanded the few officers who were still in the room with her as this was going on, pointing at the man she had been “attending”. Like Terrans, they were not outwardly showing their feelings on the matter, but looking into their eyes revealed their apprehension and hints of their own fear. Understandable, really; they had never seen her like this.

For another ten minutes, Madeline continued her grisly task until finally it was Cerron who raised his voice over the screams. “Enough! Enough, please… Mistress…” He lowered his head as he spoke the words. The screams died down and were replaced by pained moans of the men on the wall along with the steady tap of Madeline’s boots as she approached and stood before him. “We will do as you ask.”

“What will you do?” Madeline challenged, looking rather annoyed she had been interrupted. “Look me in the eye, Cerron, and say it.”

Cerron brought his eyes up and for just a split second there was an ember of defiance that died immediately as he saw the blood on her face. “We will kill the men you bring to us, by your command, Mistress.”

“What say the rest of you? Will you obey?” Madeline asked, looking at the others who all murmured their agreements.”I can’t hear you. Say it louder.”

“Yes, Mistress.” They replied in unison and louder.

“Good.” She smiled then, still looking at Cerron. “The problem is I still don’t think you quite understand the gravity of your defiance in this moment, so you will watch as I finish my work so you can truly grasp the suffering that awaits your people if you were to hesitate again.” She turned abruptly, ignoring their pleading and returned to the men on the wall, drawing her blade and resuming where she had left off.

The screams gave way to whimpers and tears, tongues pleaded for help and mercy until they were too tired to move anymore. Madeline had taken her time and after an hour, she was finally done. It had just been their legs, she wanted them to remain living after all, however briefly. She approached Cerron, her boots now tapping wetly on the bloodstained floor, crimson liquid seeping into the cracks between the deck plates. She draped the last of her grisly wraps around the man’s neck. The leaders were silent now. A couple of them had wept, one had vomited on the ground in front of themselves, but they obediently stared ahead at the terrible, bloody display in front of them, for now, that spark of defiance was gone.

She began to slowly walk up and down the line in front of the Kazon. “Understand me when I say that I have both the time and inclination to end every single Kazon in this fashion. You deserve nothing more than this. Pain. Suffering. If any one of you squanders the gift we have bestowed on you to end your people quickly, I will make them suffer and you will all watch every single one of them die slow and painful deaths. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Mistress.” The men replied as one, their voices low and compliant as they stared ahead.

“You will take your daggers in your hands and you will look every man in the eye as you end him. You will say one thing and one thing only to each man as you kill them: ‘Glory to the Empire’. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Mistress.”

Madeline stopped in front of Cerron, using the tip of her blade to force him to lift his head and look at her. “Say it.”

“Glory to the Empire.” Cerron said, his voice quiet.

“Like you mean it. All of you, say it.” She commanded the group.

“Glory to the Empire!” Rang out all around her.

“Again. Louder.”

“Glory to the Empire!” They obeyed.

“LOUDER!” She demanded, raising her own voice.

“GLORY TO THE EMPIRE!” This time they yelled it, desperately, painfully.

“That’s right.” Madeline finally sighed and took a step back. Her dark, cold gaze moved to the back of the room where the crewmen were still quietly standing and waiting. “Take them back to their assigned rooms. Don’t take off their new scarves, they’ll serve as a nice reminder for them. When you’re done, take these down and bring them to the rooms so they can be put down.” She indicated with her thumb over her shoulder. “Understood?”

Various forms of acknowledgements and yes sirs came from the Imperial crew as they moved to comply with her orders. She leaned down to Cerron then and spoke softly, intimately into his ear. “I can’t wait to get my hands on you. Remember, glory to the empire.” She patted his cheek and then moved to exit the room, her boots leaving a trail of crimson on the deck.

OFF