Into the Chamber

Posted on Fri Feb 23rd, 2024 @ 3:00am by Lieutenant Commander Lyra Cassiel & Lieutenant Commander Andrei Petrov & Ensign Mika Petrova

Mission: S1 Episode 7: Prime Factors
Location: Various; ISS Vengeance
Timeline: Date 2371-09-12 at 1800
2498 words - 5 OF Standard Post Measure

A week of being confined to quarters he understood, but 16 hours in the agonizer? He hadn’t necessarily expected that. It was always possible, though, and the cost of doing what he’d done. The likelihood he would get such a harsh punishment was increased by Annalise handing over those recordings of him being very much himself in O’Shea’s quarters.

He had lulled his father into a sense of security with him, but he had no doubt some of that had been shattered by his display. Still, the rumors said that Andrei Petrov might do anything if he wasn’t obeyed. The laughing at him had stopped, that was the important thing, and not just for ego. Laughter was the death knell of respect and fear. He would do his time and play the contrite son; the old man would forgive him, in time.

Andrei changed his clothes, having visited Sickbay already to fix his broken nose and heal his black eye. With modern technology, it was a quick fix. He knew Stagg wouldn’t be so lucky, and would likely be lying in his bed for the better part of two days and spend some time in a cast. Andrei had won, and who knew? If the man stepped out of line again, he might have to teach him another lesson.

The agonizer was aptly named, and he had put enough unruly crewmen and slaves through it in his time, that he knew what could happen. Screaming, crying, begging, and the emptying of the bladder were all common. He would avoid the first three, but he had heard the last one couldn’t be helped. He’d ordered a diaper from the replicator and put it on under compression shorts. Some shame couldn’t be avoided, but he would do his best. It would also help with another common shame: the inevitable erection from the currents. He was less worried about that one.

The door opened, and Mika entered his quarters again, frowning. She had taken care of her big brother very sweetly in Sickbay, and had been fretting over him ever since their father had decided his punishment. She came to him again and pressed her soft body against his back, hugging him.

“Are you okay?” She asked, the tone of her voice like that of a little girl.

“I’ll be fine, Mika.” He said, placing his hands on hers and smiling. His motivations could normally be reasonably questioned, but there could be no doubt he loved his sister. He was also so gentle with her, one might think she would otherwise break. It was a strange contradiction in his character, some might say, but he didn’t think so. To a Petrov, family was everything. “It’s just a bit of pain. I’ve hurt before.”

“I’ve never been in the agonizer.” She said, holding him even tighter, “it sounds terrible.”

“Of course you haven’t.” He said, spinning around and kissing her on the forehead, hugging her firmly himself. “You’re an angel.”

He released her and gave her a gentle push to let her know he wanted no more hugging.

“I am no angel. So I have to get used to pain. It’s the way of things.”

She wanted to tell him it didn’t have to be, but she knew her brother better than most, and she understood that it did. Andrei Petrov was beyond saving. She’d accepted that when she was a teenager.

“Well, I’ll visit and make sure you stay alive.” She said, sweetly. “I already signed myself up for it, so no one else sees.”

“What would I do without you?” He asked, taking her hand with a smile, and lifting it so she would spin around, dance like, in front of him.

Mika giggled and spun willingly. For most, he was a villain, whether they liked it or not, but he had always been her hero. Sometimes he guarded her closer than she’d liked, but she had no doubt he cared.

“You’d probably find someone else to patch you up and wipe away your drool.”

“Yes, but not as well as you.” He said with a chuckle. “You’re the best drool wiper I could ever have.”

“High praise.” Mika said, punching her brother on the shoulder, and doing little more than hurting her own hand.

The door to Andrei’s quarters opened and really it would have been only one person who could enter so casually. Lyra stepped inside, wearing a black bell sleeve blouse and her favorite pair of dark wash jeans. Her dark eyes immediately found Andrei and then Mika, and she paused by the door.

“Sorry.” She said automatically and even gave an apologetic smile to go with it, though it was hard to say if she was really apologetic at all.

“Hi, Lyra,” Mika said with a smile and a small, cute wave. “I was just leaving. I need to get back to Sickbay. I just wanted to check on him before he went into the chamber.”

“That’s very sweet and thoughtful.” Lyra’s smile softened and she wandered over toward Mika and Andrei, though her attention was on Mika. “I wish I had a sister like you, but all I had were smelly little brothers.”

“Andrei used to be really smelly after coming in from swords.” Mika said with a smile. She understood what it was like to want a sister. That was why it meant so much to her when Kass entered their lives, as sullen and flawed as she had been. Suddenly, she was sad, and it showed on her face.

“I’ll leave you two alone now.” She said innocently, and started for the door in order to hide her face.

Of course the sadness didn’t go unnoticed by either Lyra nor Andrei. Lyra didn’t say anything, though of course she also noticed she didn’t receive her typical hug in farewell. “Bye, Mika. Thank you.”

“Bye,” Mika said quickly as the door closed behind her.

Andrei looked at her, a smile on his face.

“Don’t mind her. She’s got a lot of feelings swimming around in there. You didn’t do anything wrong.” He said, placing his hand in hers. “So, what have you heard?”

Lyra chuckled softly and shook her head. “I know, darling. I’m not worried. I just hope she forgets that silly little stain sooner rather than later.”

She laced her fingers with his, stepping close enough that he could feel the heat of her body. “Not too much. I paid a visit to Toros after you left this morning, but I picked up gossip from a group down in the market that you rather mangled poor Asher.”

Her voice shifted to one of commiseration and sympathy that sounded genuine, her eyes were mocking.

“Poor man. I folded him like a book. If you could have seen the surprise in his eyes when I finally showed my skill..” he said, growling and grabbing hold of her slender waist and dipping her low. While she was at the lowest point in the dip, he smiled,..”you would want to tear my clothes off right here.”

Her hand came up to the back of his neck and she shifted her body with his motion easily. The smirk she gave him was genuinely amused but also held her desire. Her other hand found his cheek and she met his gaze with her own. “I’m proud of you, darling.”

He pulled her upright again, the smile waning a bit.

“Now to pay for it.” He said simply offering a sigh. “Victory is never free.”

Her own smile faded just slightly and her hand left his cheek to instead settle on his chest. “No, it isn’t.” She paused. “Have you ever been in an agonizer before, darling? Outside of the few minutes in the Academy?”

It was a legitimate question; most people had never experienced the agonizer’s bite outside of the educational two minutes those specializing in security were exposed to. It was important they understood what they were inflicting.

“No, somehow I always avoided it. I was playing the lover, not the fighter.” He said. “But I’ve put others through it dozens of times. Slaves, especially, on the Lovarr.”

Nodding, she took a breath and sighed softly. “The most important thing is remember your breathing, darling. Focus on it, use it to ground yourself.”

She, of course, spoke from experience. Not that he knew that.

“Hmm.” He said, seeming to consider it but not saying much else besides. The concept wasn’t foreign to him, and he was sure he would have plenty of time to discover it for himself soon. “I will. Any other advice?”

“Don’t fight it. Just… float.” She looked down a moment then back up, squeezing his hand slightly. “It will make sense. I promise.”

“Right..” he said, a note of skepticism in his voice. Still, he wouldn’t know if it was good advice or not until he was there. “Care to walk me down?”

“Of course.” Lifting his hand, she kissed his fingers gently. “Are you ready then?”

“Yes.” He said with certainty in his voice.

The two of them stepped out together into the corridor, and the device attached to his ankle turned from a bright green to a red, indicating he had left an approved area for his confinement. It couldn’t be helped; he needed to travel from place to place, but every time he entered an unapproved location, the color would change and an alert would be sent to the security console on the Bridge. From there, his location could and would be continually tracked.

“You’ll be acting XO during my 16 hour agony, and I made sure Jasper had everything set up for you. You shouldn’t have to do any work beyond approving routine daily reports. Seeing as we are sitting still and on leave, they should be short and boring, rather than long and boring.” He said, establishing a moderate and confident pace. If he was afraid of his sentence in the booth, he didn’t show it.

“It won’t be a problem, darling.” She assured him, walking by his side with ease. She herself seemed quite calm, but the truth was she was quite angry with Ivan’s decision. This sentence could have been made much more bearable to his son by breaking it up, but he had chosen not to. It seemed with every turn she found more reasons to dislike the man - she hadn’t wanted to, but facts simply couldn’t be ignored.

“When this is done, I will come and bring you home again, but I will not come see you during unless you want me to.”

“No, I wouldn’t have you see me like that if it can be avoided.” He said with a frown, clearly not liking the idea one bit. As they got into the turbolift and he called for the appropriate floor, he folded his strong arms under his chest, the dark shirt he was wearing adhering tightly to his skin. “I’m not sure Little Annie has been cowed. She’s got that feeling only some women, or a very foolish man can get from me, that I can’t touch her. I doubt she’s learned anything at all except I’m quick tempered and vengeful.”

Lyra had seen him at his worst on the Lovarr, had cradled his broken body against her own and had seen his trauma close up. He wouldn’t have remembered it of course, but the logs of what had occurred were quite clear. Even so, she knew the agonizer would be a different matter entirely; to see him in the pain she knew was coming would drive her to kill. Instead she focused her attention on what he had said and she reached up to lightly rub his arm.

“I wouldn’t worry about such a thing yet, darling. It is likely she didn’t see Stagg before she came to stop you.”

“It’s something to keep in mind.” He responded as the turbolift stopped and its doors parted. “I wouldn’t like to waste all that effort.”

They exited the lift together and began the short remainder of the walk to the room where he was to be tried. It was dimly lit, as usual, and a single enlisted security guard stood near the monitoring console.

Stepping inside, Andrei turned to her and leaned in, kissing her on the lips.

“I’ll see you in sixteen.” He said, his tone even and calm.

Lyra reached up, both hands on his cheeks and drew him in for another kiss, this one slower and more passionate. She released his face and placed her hands on his chest, obviously reluctant to leave him to what he was facing. With another small kiss, she finally stepped back from him. “I won’t be late.”

“I know.” He said simply, and then stepped up to the agonizer. If the roles had been reversed, his father may have been the one to die screaming. But, then again, family is everything.

She resisted the urge to give him one more parting touch and instead turned and left the room without another word. She was aware of what this reaction stemmed from and gods she hated it so much; perhaps it couldn’t be helped.

When she was gone and the door was closed, he nodded to the man behind the console.

“What’s the regime?” He asked him, as the glass closed around him.

“Sixteen hours straight.” The man sighed and shook his head slightly. “It will vary, keep you guessing what’s next. The captain ordered that levels not be left on too long on any particular one. There’s some… presets… I’ll be using. Also for the record I’m sorry about this. I drew the short straw.”

“I’ll bet you did.” Andrei said, placing his hands on the handles provided on the sides of the booth. “You’re doing your job, soldier. Proceed.”

The man still hesitated even with the order. He just had to pray his bad luck didn’t bite him in the ass with either Andrei or Cassiel. After another few beats, he tapped the console and Andrei’s sixteen hours began.

The pain started low and dull as he saw the currents begin to make contact with his body through the floor. It traveled up his arms and his chest, causing his muscles to slowly contract. As the minutes went on, it slowly increased in intensity, and then suddenly, it surged, causing him to close his eyes and wince. It was agony, and he felt like every part of his body was being ripped. But he didn’t scream. Never that.

END