Star Trek Hunter
Episode 13: The 15,000 Cities of Cun Ling

Scene 13: Cardassian Pepper

13.13

Cardassian Pepper

They had taken Flight Specialist Joey Chin. That was all Jarrong could think about. With a combination of cold blasts of air, changes in lighting including bright lights and occasional blasts of unbearable noise, her andorian captors had made it largely impossible for her and her crewmates to sleep.

Tolon's thumb had turned black and his hand was quickly turning. If he were fully human, the rot would have spread into his blood stream by now, but bajorans were exceptionally resistant to infection and this was all that was keeping him alive - barely. That and there was a native toughness to the man. But he was clearly nearing the end of his endurance.

Tactical Specialists Belo Rys and Belo Garr were little better off than Jarrong. All three had huddled around Ensign Tolon Reeves in an effort to keep him warm and conscious. They had retreated into emotional shells they had created long ago in order to survive harsh cardassian prisons on CIO 19 (Cardassia Imperial Outpost 19) where they had been born and grew up.

The cell door lock rattled, then the door opened with a bang. Two andorians briskly entered the cell. "Get up, cardassian," said one of them. "You're going to have to carry your friend."

Jarrong summoned the last of her strength, wrapped Tolon's left arm around her shoulder and lifted him. She trudged out of the cell, her cousins ahead of her. Her mind suddenly became alert when she heard the andorians quietly talking behind her:

"Where is the other one? There was one that was part human, part vulcan."

"Not in any of the cells we've seen so far, must be ahead. Take point."

Jarrong moved carefully to her right as one of the andorians squeezed around her, then in front of her cousins. He put up a clenched fist and the group jolted to a halt. Jarrong could see him adjusting the stunbludgeon to its highest setting, which would deliver the same amount of force on contact as a phaser set to kill. Just ahead was the open cell door to the cell in which Tolon Reeves had been tortured. Another andorian was standing guard at the door. She challenged the andorian at the front of the line.

          "I wasn't told the prisoners were to be moved..."

                    "You mean they tell you everything?" said the andorian in front of her. He stepped forward casually. "Because they never tell me anything..." He completed the sentence by delivering a death blow to his interlocutor with the stunbludgeon. 

                              Crackling electric buzzing and the smell of charred flesh. 

                                        The andorian door-guard's body slammed back against the cell door and several of her teeth exploded out of her mouth from the massive electric shock delivered by the stunbludgeon at full power. 

The andorian carrying the stunbludgeon surged into the cell and Jarrong could hear screaming from within as at least two more people were dealt fatal electric shocks.

Jarrong's heart sank as two more andorians came quickly from the other end of the hall, phasers drawn. More people were behind them. She closed her eyes and sagged against the freezing wall of the tunnel, barely managing to keep from dropping Tolon.

As if in a dream, she heard a voice say, "Let me have the bajoran, little sister."

Jarrong finally gave into some fantastic dream in which a very large cardassian was gently taking Ensign Tolon from her failing arms. In her dream, Belo Rys took her arm and helped her move forward down the hall. A giant cardassian lumbered in front of her, carrying Tolon. Or was it Pep who was carrying Tolon? 

It had to be Pep. For some reason he was about a half-foot shorter and had cardassian neck ridges. But if a giant cardassian could rescue her and take her half-bajoran commanding officer from her arms, Pep could grow neck ridges. And be a little shorter.

Just ahead of cardassian Pep, another man was carrying another person. Bare legs and feet dangling from his left arm. A head rolling back and forth on his right arm. A cascade of impossibly fine, black hair. So black that it had a blue shine to it.

13.13